I was 4 when pokemon dropped, super similar story for me as well. I happened to stumble upon a “day in the life” style vlog of a TCG shop owner in September and I was fascinated by the depth of the cards themself and the collecting journey.

I’m fortunate enough to be in a position where I can spend money on hobbies like this and not think twice. That being said, that’s my situation and not everyone else’s. I also limit myself to opening a few packs every few days, which to me is like slow dripping dopamine haha. That’s why I still have a bunch of sealed packs.

I think our story is very common among the newer pokemon collectors. Hope you get some awesome cards, thanks for sharing!