BIRDS CHIRPING, CAR engines revving, first years griping: These are the sounds of the U of O campus. And after five years of hanging around listening to the same tired soundtrack, it gets boring.
Confession: I am an iPod user. That girl ordering coffee with her headphones still on? That’s me. The person too enthralled with adjusting the bass and treble to check if the light is red or green? This chick. And that’s how I like it.
I get criticism left, right, and centre for my music-listening habit.
“You’ll go deaf!” they say.
“You’re going to walk straight into traffic!” they warn.
“You’re missing all the sounds of the real world!” they exclaim.
My response? I know, and I don’t much care. Being constantly plugged in is a conscious decision, and a choice I’m not likely to change my mind about any time soon.
With my music player in tow, I can design the soundtrack to my whole life. Having a bad day? Time to toss on the Coldplay. Going for a walk? I’m thinking Tegan and Sara. Angry at a coworker? Alexisonfire, all the way. Having all my musical options at my fingertips 24/7 not only allows me to set my mood, but to truly enjoy it—no matter how bitter it may be.
If the world didn’t want music to live their life to, portable music players would never have been invented and the star-studded soundtrack wouldn’t be the biggest selling point of the Twilight franchise. Music is the lifeblood of our hipster-ridden society, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As long as strangers keep saving me from walking into traffic or falling into open manholes, I don’t see any problem with pumping beats all day, every day. Yell your criticism as loud as you want—my headphones are in and I can’t hear you.
—Jaclyn Lytle
