Vital Instruments

Photo Credit to Garret Morrow on Pexels

Throughout your life, there are going to be certain objects that weave themselves into your individuality until they become something more. They become a part of your everyday routine, your ideals of comfort and a part of your identity. 

For me, that object is a pair of Skullcandy Crusher Evo headphones. I've had them for years. They aren’t anything too flashy… the cushions have lost some of their fluff, the bass doesn’t boom as loud and the volume doesn’t reach the peak like they would if they were brand new. Despite all the years we’ve spent together, I feel like I would die without them. 

What makes these headphones so important to me isn’t just their intended use, but how they play a constant role in my life. They’ve carried me through so much; they’ve become my escape. They help with the long sleepless nights, studying silence, blocking out all the noise when I need to focus and the stress of everyday life. And this all comes from listening to music, watching videos or just using them to have my own sense of personal space. They have never failed me and I rely on them heavily. In a world of loud sorrows, they give me the ability to take control of the day. 

While the functional connection is always the first thing established, the strong emotional connection is just as important. Over the years, they have been with me through all the different phases of my life. The different moods, memories, challenges, friends and even certain songs I’ve listened to trigger thoughts that bring me back to specific moments in life. It’s almost like they have stored all of my most important memories. Honing to this, they are essential to me and cannot be replaced; losing them would be losing a vital part of myself, a memory bank that has unlimited storage. 

If I didn’t have my headphones, my day-to-day life would not be the same. It would be much harder to focus. I’ve gotten so used to using music as the background noise of my life that concentrating would prove to be difficult, and the silence would be deafening enough to kill. Some of the most comforting places, like my bedroom at home or my dorm wouldn’t feel the same. The added anxiety when traveling would just overtake my mind, and I would feel more overwhelmed and overstimulated in my environment. 

Looking beyond focus, music has always been part of my life, and it's something I am very fond of. It helps me process my feelings, whether that’s calming down after a stressful day at work or I need to hype myself up before going to hang out. Without my headphones, those experiences become dull and muddled as the moment doesn’t feel like mine anymore. Playing music out loud on a speaker doesn’t create the same kind of environment, nor does it invoke the same feelings as using my headphones. I need to feel the music and bass in my bones. 

In all honesty, I do believe that I can technically live without them, but it would prove difficult. As humans, we are adaptable; over time, we will find alternative things that give us the same satisfaction as previous objects or items. Maybe I’d eventually get a new pair or start using a speaker instead. But these headphones and I have a specific connection that can’t be replaced. Even if I get a new pair or some other brand that is of better quality, they wouldn’t carry the same familiarity or comfort that these headphones currently bring me. So while I could actually function without them, it would be like losing a sense of myself that I wouldn’t fully heal from. 

These headphones are bigger than their name; they’re bigger than their function. There are small things we depend on in our lives without ever realizing it. Everyday objects can have deeper meanings, and as time goes by we gain experiences and memories with them. It's not just about what their function is, but what they tend to represent: comfort, memories, and identity. 

So while it might just be a pair of ordinary headphones to the average person, to me, they are much more than that. They’re a variable in my life that is constant. They are a tool and a lifeline that I depend on heavily, and a source of ultimate emotional connection. Losing them wouldn’t just be an inconvenience for a temporary time. But it would feel like losing a part of me that has shaped my experiences in the world.