%0 PDF %T That's Mine. %A Noftle, Elizabeth. %D 2016-11-22T17:19:32.445Z %8 2016-11-22 %I Tufts University. Tisch Library. %R http://localhost/files/4x51hw45z %X My room is full of things. Item upon item. Mirrors, chair, books, record player, records, colored pencils, necklaces, shoes, cameras; the list goes on. I have so many things, so many possessions—objects I want to hold onto. It's not really the thing that I am clinging to, but rather the thought, the memory, the experience, the feeling associated with it. I am constantly seeking identity by turning to the objects that I surround myself with. I have come to realize that those I value most are the ones that are keepers of my strongest memories. I find meaning for my past and present self in these objects. I became curious about what other people value. Do others have strange little keepers of memories that they would never give up in a million years? I began with a simple search of "prized possessions" on the internet and quickly realized that hundreds of people were sharing photographs of their favorite things. Belt buckles, kayaks, books, rings, toys, boots, sunglasses; I was itching to know the stories behind all of these objects of such personal value. I started e-mailing people to gather the reasons why they treasured these items, to find out what memory, feeling, or meaning they held. I found the responses intriguing—personal anecdotes from the first time they laid eyes on it, memories from simpler days, reminders of love and family. %[ 2022-05-06 %~ Tufts Digital Library %W Institution