My decision to become more actively unplugged.
A day in the life of a university student typically consists of the following basic routine: scrolling through social media, listening to music on the commute to campus, listening to lecture, walking out of lecture with headphones on, listening to a recording of the lecture you missed, and the cycle repeats. That’s a lot of listening! While some of it is active, like listening to lectures (hopefully), much of our daily lives are passive in nature.
I’ve noticed that we tend to disconnect from reality quite quickly (headphones on as soon as the lecture ends). We know by now that what we listen to matters, it affects how we think about ourselves and influences our lives. Beyond that, however, listening constantly just adds more stimulation and noise to our day. Music can be relaxing and so much fun, there’s no question about that; but sometimes I feel like I’ve been inhibiting my ability to simply breathe by habitually listening to music.
As students, we are constantly absorbing information. When I stopped listening to music on my bus ride home and turned the music down in my car a few notches, I realized that I was giving myself more room to think. Silence, I found, was a peaceful break in my day. Oftentimes, stepping out of my bubble of sound has introduced me to conversations and observations that I would have otherwise missed.
I still listen to music often, don’t let this article fool you- and I’m eagerly waiting for my Spotify Wrapped to come out! After I cut back on passively listening to music, I began to notice life more intently. I paid more attention to what was going on around me and allowed myself to get bored. In a way, part of me felt like a kid again, peering out of the bus windows with a little more wonder and curiosity. Choosing to listen to music became a more intentional choice in my life which even allowed me to enjoy it more.
So now, rather than listening to music simply out of habit, I’ve decided to be more mindful of what and when I listen, which has allowed me to slow down, take a breath, and appreciate the uneventful, something which will never be dull.