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My name is Hilary Brashear and I am a sophomore at Haverford. I am a Sociology major with a concentration in Gender and Sexuality studies.  

I especially felt the importance of my ipod after I lost it (on my birthday no less!) for a couple of months in high school. For probably two or three months I went without an ipod and I was surprised how much I was affected by its absence. In high school I had a forty five minute to an hour commute to school every day, taking both a subway and a bus, and I would always listen to my ipod on my way to and from school. I found comfort in having an ipod and listening to music because not only I could create a soundtrack for my life but I could create a private bubble for myself in a public space. I could relax after a long day of school and not think about anything but the music. In addition, the presence of two white little ear buds is an excellent way to avoid unwanted conversation. In the ipodless period of my life my commute to school changed dramatically. I was much more aware of the silence and noise of my commute as well as my wandering thoughts. But more than anything I felt a little bit lost and exposed without my ipod. Even though commuting to school was the most public part of my day it felt the most private to me because of my ipod.   I think this is both a positive and negative effect. The ipod has many great qualities and I appreciate the luxury of having entire music libraries in our pocket and the ability to listen to, at the swipe of a finger, any song you might be in the mood for. At the same time the ipod also adds to the distancing of human to human contact created by new technologies. In my experience with the loss of my ipod I realized how nice it can be to just experience public life and interact with it merely through quite observation. It also reminded me of the value of quiet contemplation.  However even though I gained these insights through the experience, I immediately jumped on the offer of a new ipod when my friends father me offered me one. After getting a taste of life with a soundtrack it’s hard to go back.