I fell victim to the headphones. For three weeks, I told myself that I would not bring my CD player on the subway and listen to music while ignoring the rest of the sounds the city has to offer. On Monday morning, however, I grabbed my discman and a mix CD my friend had sent me, turned up the volume, and proceeded to work without ever hearing an outside sound. I did not want to wear the earplugs because I felt that I was falling into an unsocial and solitary trap. Very rarely do people talk on the subway or when walking down the street, and headphones are an even bigger impediment to social interaction. My friend from NYU says that she often wears headphones that are tucked into her shirt and attached to nothing because it allows her to choose when she wants to be social or keep to herself. I never wanted to wear them. I wanted people to be able to ask me questions; I wanted to ride the subway without missing a funny comment made by a fellow passenger; I wanted to hear the horn of the on-coming truck that was about to hit me as I crossed the street; and I wanted to make the most of my walk as I traveled to work. But as the old song goes, "we can't always get what we want." And so on Monday morning, I became a New York City metro headphone-wearing citizen.
Ironically, as I walked with my headphones on, I began to notice more. With all the noise blocked out except for the music, I could concentrate better on other sights and focus on an object or person without being distracted by a squeaky subway track, a baby crying or a barking dog. I do not wear my headphones everyday, but I have now come to appreciate the different world they allow me to see.
