Who needs headphones? We have the world
When I’m alone, nine times out of ten, I instinctively reach for my headphones—cueing up a perfectly curated playlist, a favorite podcast, or the audiobook I’m working through. A soundtrack follows me wherever I go, filling the spaces between classes, errands and the quiet moments in between. Last month, after a particularly draining day, I slipped on my headphones, pressed play on Role Model’s new deluxe album and—five seconds later—I took them out. My brain hurt—from school, from the noise, from listening.
All day, we listen—to lectures, conversations, the never-ending stream of notifications pinging in the background. Even the things we actively choose, music, podcasts or audiobooks, still add to the constant input that inundates our brains. That night, as I walked home with nothing but the crisp air and the sound of my own breath for company, I was calm.
The term “silent girl walks” trended on TikTok at the end of 2023, partially in response to the ever-popular “hot-girl walks.” While unsurprising, given that “hot-girl walks” have always been about blending movement with mental reset, it made me laugh. Before the Walkman, the world’s first portable audio system, every walk was a “silent girl” walk.
Of course, no walk is ever truly silent. There’s always ambient noise: the rustle of trees, distant conversations, a passing car. And yet, as I look around campus, nearly everyone is plugged in. Most say they need music or a podcast because walking without sound is “boring.” But is it? Or have we just forgotten how to be alone with our thoughts?
There is room for organic discovery by walking headphone-less. Silence is the purest pallet cleanser. The rhythm of your footsteps, the steady rise and fall of your breath—it’s a natural form of meditation that asks nothing of you, letting us exist in the moment without external input. The world isn’t silent, it has its own soundtrack: the rustle of trees, the occasional bark of a dog, the distant hum of a passing car. Without music, I hear the birds on the way to class, the wind whipping through the trees and the splashes of puddles I try (and fail) to step over. These subtleties create a collage of sound more alive than any Spotify playlist.
Beyond natural noise, there’s a human element—because people-watching is fun, but people-listening? Even better. Headphone-less, you catch the absurd, hilarious and sometimes deeply personal snippets of conversation from passing strangers: a heated debate over the best flavor of Bubbl’r, a whispered confession about last night’s bad decision, a perfectly timed punchline that makes you laugh even though you have no context. Filling in the blanks is entertaining, letting your brain run wild, imagining, in a world that so often tells us to maintain composure.
Walking in silence is one of the few times in the day when thoughts can rise to the surface, unprompted and unfiltered, without a podcast telling you what to focus on or a song setting the mood. It’s where ideas form, problems untangle and creativity sparks. We don’t need meditation apps or designated “mindfulness” routines to achieve this—sometimes, all it takes is a walk without curated noise.
So the next time you’re heading to class—especially as Wisconsin slowly defrosts into spring—consider leaving your headphones in your pocket. Tune into the world around you. It may feel strange, but walk with that strangeness. You might find that silence isn’t empty or “boring” after all.