My Digital Museum by Matthew Small

matthewtsmall — 2024-07-13 02:45:55 UTC

This barrier not only represents the winner of Taunton's annual City Championship, but the baseball culture in Taunton as a whole. Each year, the two championship teams to come out of Taunton East and Taunton West face off to call themselves the kings of the city. The tradition of painting the barrier has been carried on for decades and decades, first dating back to around 1965.

Under about six years worth of painted layers, my name sits along with my own Little League team. The barrier sits at the corner of Dunbar and Fremont St, two of the busier roads in the center of town.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-16 18:46:18 UTC

This bench means a lot to me because it was the first time that I felt myself calm and relaxed at UConn. I would walk to the bench every night and sit there for about a half-hour. I'd listen to music, listen to the cars drive by, listen to the bugs and flowing water, or even call a buddy from home. But whenever I sat on this bench, I felt myself at home. I've taken my (at the time) significant other there time and time again, and the bench has never failed to bring serenity. So, this bench reminds me of home.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-17 16:38:37 UTC

This is the famous Benjamin, a rock that I found on a family trip to an island off of Martha's Vineyard. Cuttyhunk has a population of 40 people, but during the summer there is an influx of tourists - my family being one of them. I picked this rock up and decided to keep it because I admired its symmetry; little did I know it would be the last time to this date that my family had been to Cuttyhunk. The rock symbolizes the congregation of my family, because it is very rare to see all five of us in the same room, never mind on a vacation together. The rock is referred to as Benjamin because at the time I had an odd fascination with naming inanimate objects. My family means a lot to me, and when I see the rock in my backyard it reminds me of the memories we made growing up.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-17 16:53:49 UTC

While growing up I would always find myself climbing trees; either alone to get away from everything, or hiding with my friends during manhunt. But finding a branch to sit on and look out at the world around me is a feeling that could not be replicated. This particular tree is at UConn, outside of the Austin Building (pictured behind). On sunny days I would bring my laptop up on that branch and sit, doing homework as I watch other students walk by. Not only does this tree branch symbolize the memories of my childhood as I grow up and go to college, but it also reminds me of my fascination for people-watching. Every student with their own schedule, in a hurry to make it to whatever class they have next.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-17 17:39:58 UTC

This sign marks the beginning of the Taunton Industrial Park, A.K.A. I-park, A.K.A. Indo 500. The first thing you see after hitting the exit off of I-495, it serves as the business park for the city of Taunton. More importantly to me, I drive through it almost every single day. It symbolizes my way home, whether I'm getting off the highway from a town over or a week-long road trip. My friends and I would ride bikes through the Industrial park to get to Dunkin Donuts during the summer, which is one of my most fond memories. I feel as though I could drive through it with a blindfold on because of the amount of passes through I've taken.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-17 23:20:39 UTC

The house that I've lived in all my life is what I can say without question the happiest sight that my eyes could see. Pulling into the driveway means that I am done with whatever task of activity I have just been working through, and it lets me know that a hot shower and my bed aren't too far away. To me, I believe that my house symbolizes safety. It's my comfort place; the place that I can take a load off and have a deep breath. There is something natural about humans feeling more relaxed in their homes, and I believe familiarity plays a large role in this.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-17 23:33:42 UTC

In short, this certificate is a symbol of my greatest achievement that I will never top as long as I live. Some people may argue that the peak of everyone's life is the early twenties, but I know for a fact that I peaked at age seventeen, on the seventh hole of MGA Links in Norton, Massachusetts. Golf is my favorite activity for leisure, and a hole out is the crown jewel of any golfer's career. The certificate symbolizes all of the hours spent playing different courses and seeing no improvement for years, and proves to my mom that the hours were not entirely wasted.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-17 23:54:51 UTC

This is Griff, my favorite person in the entire world. To clarify, I have three dogs that I love equally, but Griffey is my favorite and he knows it. He's a golden doodle, but his brains are much more on the golden retriever side. Griffey is the goofiest, most lovable dog that you will ever meet and the appearance that his little underbite tells all you need to know about his personality. There isn't another dog in the world that will protect their ball with more concern than Griff, because for some reason he acts as though someone would take it and never give it back if he let it out of his sight. We adopted Griff second, so he grew up as the little brother - and still acts like it. The other two dogs (Riley and Mila) are females, and when all three dogs play together it usually turns into Griff getting steamrolled by the other two. He's always there to give me love when I need it, and he'll always sit for a treat. Griff reminds me of my innocence, for his simple little brain seems to keep him the happiest puppy in the world.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-18 00:04:22 UTC

I stated previously that my proudest achievement would be my hole-in-one. It still is, but the runner-up would be to call myself a student at the University of Connecticut. I love everything about Storrs; the setup of the campus, the camaraderie that comes with being a Husky, the people, the buildings, the classes, etc. UConn has been the best decision I've ever made and there is no other school that I could picture myself being at. I hope to continue on this path and graduate a Husky. My school ID symbolizes that I belong at UConn; it is very easy for me to lose sight of who I am as a student, and question if I am supposed to be there. But seeing the UConn logo under my ID photo reassures me that the school allowed me to be here for a reason, and I need to prove to myself that I belong too.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-18 00:18:29 UTC

Everyone has a lock screen that they can open their phones to, and they're usually changed every now and again if the time is considered needed. I have had the same lock screen for seven years now, and I don't plan on changing it any time soon. The friend pictured next to me's name is Joseph, a basketball teammate that I was very close to during high school. Joseph and I were the "duo to save Taunton basketball," because we were the two tallest kids growing up. Junior year, Joseph decided to change schools and enroll a town over to play for a better coach. From then on, we were never as close as we had been. We keep in touch from time to time, but I haven't seen his face personally in over a year. Nonetheless, he remains my lock screen as I remain his as well (as far as I know). The picture symbolizes old friends, and gives me a constant reminder to check in on the ones you haven't seen in a while.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-18 00:52:03 UTC

There's no better way to show that you care for your best friends than to get the most random picture of the group printed on six different flags. This was originally a gag idea but ended up being a very sentimental piece of our friendships. The picture is from a random night that we all met at Chili's, and decided that a gentlemanly picture was the perfect nightcap. My favorite part of the picture is looking back at all of the different outfits; my friend and I had been coming from National Honor Society, so we were dressed formal while the rest wore pajamas and sweatshirts. The picture symbolizes the simple times that mean the most to me, because the memories that will resonate are the ones laughing with my fellas in a Chili's booth.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-18 01:04:08 UTC

Pictured above is my direct source of income; without it, I would be the most broke man East of the Mississippi. I am a server for work at a restaurant that has kept me on the payroll since I was sixteen years old. I climbed the "ladder" from a bus boy to a food runner, to a bar back, and finally began serving food when I was eighteen. I've been serving for a while now and I have to say that it has definitely gotten easier with time. At the bottom left corner, you can see my TIPS certification which enables me to legally serve alcohol. The right pad is for notes, the zipper beneath that is my "bank," and the piece of paper at the top left just says "ALLERGIES!!" so I remember to ask my tables before putting any food in. But the reason that I love serving so much comes in the folded-up piece of paper on the left side. A little girl once gave me her kids' menu, which on the back had a picture that she drew in crayon. She handed it to me before leaving. I promptly fainted, for it was the cutest act of kindness I had ever received. This book reminds me of that moment because even though it's still a job, I can make somebody's day while doing it.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-18 01:20:02 UTC

Growing up as the kid who was always taller than everyone else, it was canon that basketball would be my main sport. I've played basketball since I was six years old, where I played up on the third-grade travel team due to my size. It has been a massive part of my life and has made me the person I am today, because this was where I learned the hardships of life. If I made an elite AAU team and I didn't get playing time, my parents would just tell me to work harder. That made getting better and seeing progress so much more rewarding because there was physical evidence of the hard work. I have a love/hate relationship with basketball though, because it first gave me the first obvious signs of OCD and anxiety. I would have rituals before every game and every play, I would have to count the amount of steps that I took in between lines, I would have to warm up the exact same way, and I would never allow myself to look at the scoreboard. This obviously hindered my ability to play the game. It eventually got so bad that right before my senior year, while I was getting scouted to play college basketball, I decided that the game was too much stress for my mind to handle, and quit the team. This basketball will always symbolize the growing moments I had as a kid, when I was faced with challenges and injuries and critics that would have to be persevered through.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-18 01:30:17 UTC

My family have always been big fans of the Super Mario franchise, but no game brought our family together more than Mariokart. My dad would play the three of us while my mom watched, and that is one of the fondest memories that I have with my family. A few years ago, a new rendition of Mariokart hit the stores, and my sister was home from college for the summer. We would play every night in her room, sometimes until I would fall asleep on her floor. The two of us got so good at the game that we couldn't race the CPU's because we would win so easily. So, we began playing online matches together and even entered a few tournaments. I came in twentieth of 3,000 competitors in our best performance, but none of the rankings mattered. My sister and I bonded over this minuscule Nintendo game, and I believe it propelled our relationship to how we've become so close today. Mariokart, to me, symbolizes the act of bringing people together, no matter what the mindless entertainment is.

matthewtsmall — 2024-08-18 01:41:19 UTC

My knight in shining armor, my sunshine on a rainy day, my one true love: My golf clubs. Any time I bring them out, I know that my happy place is on the horizon. If I ever need to escape, a golf course is my first destination. I can get away from life, focus on hitting the small white ball really far, and breathe fresh air. Yes, maybe sometimes I want to throw my entire bag in the river after a bad shot, but that is what makes the good parts of golf so rewarding. My clubs symbolize getting away from stress, maybe grabbing a couple buddies and taking our minds off of life for a little while. It is a game that caters to the old and the young, the strong and the weak, the feeble and the athletic, and the pros and the amateurs. I bought every part of my golf bag on my own, building the best bag that I could over time. I've been playing for four years now, and I am still terrible. But that's the name of the game; it's all about the chase to be better.