Take Your AirPods Out!
By Madelyn Mahle
Edited by Anna Kate Mereness
I’m challenging you: after class ends, don’t put your AirPods in! When you go on a walk, don’t bring headphones. When you sit at Armstrong and wait for your friend to arrive, don’t reach for your phone. Instead, listen to your environment and the sounds happening around you. The voices of fellow students, wet shoes squeaking across the floor, the crumbling of a Starbucks bag, birds chirping, cars passing by, and the bell tower echoing across campus.
I know this is easier said than done. But I’ve never been someone who listens to music to and from class or wears AirPods while walking around campus. I rarely bring them on walks. Maybe that’s unusual, but I’ve always preferred listening to what’s happening around me.
I think part of that comes from being an only child. I grew up spending a lot of time by myself, so silence has never felt particularly uncomfortable, and I actually enjoy it. There is something about walking to class without music, standing around without a video playing, and being alone with environmental sounds that comfort me. I think about my day, make a mental to-do list, think about my interests and things I want to do that week, or think about something completely random. Sometimes I don’t think about anything at all. And I just walk.
I've always wondered, though: what are the rest of us listening to?
Maybe you are listening to music, catching up on a podcast, watching TikToks, or calling your mom on the walk home. Maybe you just want background noise after a long day. There’s nothing wrong with any of that. But what happens when we’re used to having something playing that a bit of silence begins to feel strange?
I also wonder if headphones have become more than just something we use to listen. On college campuses, AirPods, headphones, and wired headphones have become a part of our outfits, a stylistic choice. Don’t get me wrong, I own all three and have seen plenty of images on Pinterest of styling headphones, but AirPods can say, “I’m busy,” “Don’t talk to me,” or “Hey, I’m in my own world right now,” and to communicate that, I typically just throw on a pair of sunglasses or wear a hat, ha!
Sometimes students probably put headphones on because they genuinely want to listen to something, but other times, they're put on because everyone else is doing it. It may be because we feel awkward standing in line without looking at a phone or listening to something to fill the silence, almost to create our own little bubble in a place where we’re constantly surrounded by other people. And trust me, I get it. College is loud. Classes, meetings, conversation, notifications–it can be too much and almost overwhelming at times. I understand why you’d want to shut the world out for a few minutes.
On the other hand, for me, silence and environmental sound make me feel connected to where I am. A chilly fall morning sounds different from a rainy afternoon. Our campus sounds different earlier in the morning than it does in between classes. Even the same three variations of walks I take to class can feel different-all because of the weather that day, the people passing by, the sound that something made, something I heard in the distance, the song someone has blasting out their window, the shoes and clothing worn-it all makes sound, and it makes each day feel a little bit different. That matters more than I think we realize.
In a few short months (or maybe a few years for you), we’re going to leave this campus and part ways. We’ll graduate, move back home or someplace else, and have a completely new routine or environment. You probably won’t remember the songs you listened to on the walk to class, but you might remember the bell tower in the distance, or sounds of rain hitting the leaves and the way that made you feel something.
Sound is so interesting, and it can attach itself to a person, place, or memory. I wonder if we paid more attention to the sounds that aren't coming from our phones, and what if the sound from our beautiful college campus, and the students who live here, became part of what we remember the most about it.
And so my challenge to you is:
Try walking to class without your AirPods in for one day. Leave them in your bag. Don’t pull out your phone the second you start to feel awkward or are sitting in silence. Allow yourself to experience moments without music and sound that come from your phone. Listen to your environment–the birds, the rain, the crunchy leaves, and the sounds that come from campus. Conversations being had, bustling afternoons, and shoes on the staircases. You might notice something you've missed, think of a thought that you want to write down, and continue to strengthen the connection you have with your inner self. And maybe you won’t hear anything particularly memorable; that’s okay too!
The point isn't to give up your headphones; it's to remember that you don’t always need something to listen to.
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