Giving thanks: To my earbuds
For many, music plays a large part of their daily life, no matter the format it’s consumed in. For The Sidekick staff writer Saniya Koppikar, music eases anxiety through times of stress.
November 18, 2021
In light of the Thanksgiving season, I think it is fitting to honor you.
You, who I never leave the house without. You, who must be so tired of my bad attempts to wrap you up nicely so you don’t get tangled in my backpack. You, who can transport me to an oasis, an escape and a paradise.
Earbuds, I really do love you, and I’m sorry to say it: a lot of people don’t like you.
They don’t agree with you. Maybe it’s just a preference. Maybe it’s the health aspect of it. You do contribute to hearing loss in a surprising amount of teenagers.
To be honest, I think all this opposition might just be because I’m always wearing you. You and I, we spend the whole day together.
In the morning, we listen to my podcasts: there’s NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!”, true crime I probably should save until after I’ve brushed my teeth and good old fashioned news paired perfectly with a banana.
As I lean against the F hall walls at lunch, catching up on calculus content with videos from the AP Classroom website, I take a quick break with a few songs from my playlist.
Walking home from school, the new autumn winds try to rip you out of my ears, but we soldier the weather together. (It’s not annoyance on my face as I spend nine minutes trying to untangle you, it’s concentration)
And at long last, when I switch my bedside lamp off, when I sink beneath the covers and close my eyes, and we sing our last song together for the night.
My earbuds, what would I do without you?
Not only do you stick by me through thin and thick, you never disappoint. No matter how many times I forget I’m wearing you and try to walk away from the computer I am plugged into, or how often my water bottle leaks and soaks your backpack pocket through, you’re still holding on.
Without waxing poetic in your honor too much longer, I’ll sum this up. To my earbuds, I say thank you. No matter what anybody thinks, you don’t detach me from my senses. You make them bloom. Through your thin cord, you bring me knowledge, entertainment and peace.
This Thanksgiving, I offer you my endless gratitude.
Follow Saniya Koppikar (@SaniyaKoppikar) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.
