Well, as they say all good things must come to an end.
To paint a full picture, I was at my grandparents’ 55th wedding anniversary party, and inadvertently also my 15th birthday. In lieu of a birthday party, I was just going to open a gift from my family there since everyone was already present. In all honesty, I sent my mom the link to the headphones I would soon open, and so I knew what present I was getting. They were the Sony XM-4s, which were matte black and, most importantly, noise-cancelling. These headphones allowed me to enjoy music even more than I already did. With the noise of high school, it became imperative to find my own pocket of quiet.
The high school I went to had over 3,000 students, which made the hallways very loud, and all I wanted was to hear my music. I also wanted to be able to tune out the chaos of the cafeteria and the bus. The school was so loud it felt like I was being swallowed by the noise. I wanted these headphones so that as school got louder, I could literally tune everyone out.
These headphones never left my head. I had them at school, work, and my weekly volunteering. I was so attached to them I became synonymous with them in life. My sophomore year chemistry teacher actually addressed my Christmas card to “Shea and her headphones,” since I always had them on in class. To set the record straight, I did pay attention and did very well in her class. I just did it while listening to music or tuning out my classmates.
One fateful day, my headphones were not charged, and I had left their charger at home as well. I was on the bus to go to a volleyball game. The coach said my name and then asked, “Where are your headphones?” to which I had to sadly explain that I had forgotten to plug them in. He actually laughed at me because, as he explained, my headphones were a part of my avatar.
I wore my headphones everywhere. They saw me through learning to drive, two broken feet, my first job, four drives from Connecticut to Florida, trips to Chicago, Canada, France, and Austria, choosing to go to GW, and at least a dozen rides on Amtrak.
With all of my time on my headphones, I gathered 18,494 hours total for my headphones to be actively playing Music, podcasts, or YouTube. My top songs that are just better with headphones are,
Ribs – Lorde
Lip Gloss – Lil Mama
Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
Strawberry Wine – Noah Kahan
Get Your Brits Out – Kneecap
Landslide – Stevie Nicks
It Isn’t Perfect, But It Might Be – Olivia Dean
The Grudge – Olivia Rodrigo
DNA. – Kendrick Lamar
Two Doors Down – Dolly Parton
30 For 30 – SZA and Kendrick Lamar
Sorry (Original Demo) – Beyoncé
Ugly Heart – G.R.L.
Hit ‘Em Up – 2Pac feat. Outlawz
This is just some of my favorites, with a special shout-out to everything Phoebe Bridgers has ever put out. I listened to You Missed My Heart over 250 times in the span of one year.
Those headphones saw me through some of the best parts of life and the worst. Lots of studying and Heimler’s History to prepare for my AP US History Exam, many laughs as I went on school trips with friends, a handful of panic attacks, and more than 200 phone calls home to Connecticut, as well as some of the best naps of my life.
I symbolically close a very pivotal chapter in my life while I open the next with Bose QuietComfort Generation Two in the color Rose Mauve Matte. Of course, these are also noise-cancelling since GW is just as loud as Connecticut high schools.