I’m not a big fan of wearing an iPod while walking around campus. It was something I tried out freshman year as a way of waking myself up on the way to my 8 a.m. calculus class. I soon found out, though, that the background music was more harmful than it was helpful, so I soon kicked the habit.
My views changed a bit when I moved to Philadelphia for the summer. It made the urban strolls to and from work much easier and much less sketchy. How else could I have avoided the sleazy construction workers, the homeless men, the annoying Green Peace kids bugging people at the street corners, or the harsh eye contact with some of the most bitter people in America?
Back here at Vandy, it’s just not the same. First of all, there’s a social stigma attached to those kids that walk to class with their headphones in. People say, “Oh man, he thinks he’s such a cool guy,” or “Man, that girl is really standoffish.”
Even if you don’t really care about what others think, there are still other reasons to deter you from listening to your iPod on the way to class.
There’s always the question of what you should do when you see someone you know. It’s already awkward enough figuring out whether you should just smile, wave, or actually say, “Oh hey! How are you?” in passing. Not only that, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out at what distance it would be appropriate to begin acknowledging the other’s presence. Either way, you both know the other is coming, and no matter how long you mess with that empty Inbox on your phone or pretend like it’s your first time reading the plaque beneath the Margaret Branscomb statue (even though its your 126th time passing it this year), you must notice the person at some point and do something in order to avoid being the jerk in the situation.
Add an iPod to the mix, and yeah, you might be able to avoid awkward by appearing to be distracted. But chances are, you will be asking yourself whether you should take out one ear, both ears, or keep them both in when saying “hey.”
It’s also weird because, I don’t know about you, but when I get certain songs playing, it’s very hard to completely disconnect myself from the mood of the music. I bet if you have a little T.I. playing on your walk to Molly Miller’s geology, you would probably walk into the class feeling intense, revved up, and cool. Then, with the little emo mix, things may get a bit gloomier and an involuntary sad look may cover your face. And you may even push that far enough to think that you are living though the scenes of dramatic movie. And of course, there’s always that chance you start singing out loud. A lot of the football players do this with no shame.
Moral of the story: add a soundtrack to your life at your own risk. Even if you don’t care what other people think, your life in-between classes might just become a little bit easier.
—Frannie Boyle is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at mary.f.boyle@vanderbilt.edu.
