A "Walkman" Down Memory Lane

A look into my life around ages 11- now and how my Sony Walkman was there for all of it....

Before I had the Walkman, I had a stereo. The trouble was we didn't see eye to eye. I was and still am a quiet person. I don't like to disturb anyone and I enjoy my privacy. Plus I didn't listen to the stuff that was "in" at the time. I only listened to the popular crap when it was on the radio in the car or I was over a friend's house. I didn't have albums by Britney Spears, N*Sync, Nelly- I had Backstreet Boys but that came later.

I was into Broadway. The Lion King got me hooked. I also lived about 40 minutes from the city so I got to see a lot of shows. Wicked, Hairspray, Phantom of the Opera- I loved all the music.

I was also INSANELY obsessed with Cirque du Soleil. It just felt weird playing my music on a stereo. I couldn't get sucked into it. I felt like something was missing.

Everything changed on my 12th birthday when I received the greatest gift a tween in the early 2000's could get.

I popped in a CD and the magic unfurled....

I knew it was going to be a wonderful friendship.

I had my Walkman going constantly. And back in the day the batteries would last anywhere from 4-6 months (Now it's like 1-2 months). I'd spend hours listening to music and get whisked off into magical Jirr-world.

Walkman not only helped me create things, but he helped me escape the hellish years of puberty and middle school:

And I freakin liked my lunchbox!

During that time, all the other girls were starting to get into, well, girly things. I didn't give two craps about makeup, boys, or my hair (obviously). My womanhood may have bloomed a little earlier than everyone else but I was still mentally a kid. Because of that, I wasn't getting along with anyone in my school. I had one or two friends but I didn't spend much time with them outside of school. Instead, I'd go home and spend all afternoon drawing and listening to my Walkman.

I was able to forget about my lonely days at school. I no longer worried about what the flood of hormones was doing to my body. It was just me and my Walkman getting lost in our own brains.

I eventually grew up (a little bit) and had weird phases like every teenager. My taste in music changed with it.

High school got a lot better. I let my hair grow A LOT and no one thought I was a lesbian anymore. (At least I don't think they did.)

It all changed when the Fire Nation attacked  I reached the age of 14 and those girly hormones kicked in.... BAD.  

Walkman was there for the good times and the ugly times:

And things weren't always smooth between us.

Ear bud dreadlocks?

I got the mp3 player for Christmas and shortly after, it mysteriously vanished. I didn't find it until a year later and it wouldn't work. I took it into Geek Squad and they said because the device was never used, it lost the ability to charge (Yeah, I have no idea). The mp3 player was obsolete anyway because all the iDoodads were coming out.

We also had our little accidents:

RIP Gameboy Advanced. You sacrificed your life for a good cause.

Then there was the time I dropped him on concrete, he fell in the mud and almost sank- but it never stopped him from playing a CD. I'd hit play and that little "beep" would always come on. Except for that one time, but that's another story.

Walkman has always been there to help me. The music that came through those little headphones has gotten me through the passing of loved ones, moving to a new state to start college, coping with homesickness and especially when Skippy went on deployment.

How we, the world, listen to music has come a long way. The Boombox seems prehistoric. We now rely on the internet and digital downloads. We have sites like Pandora and Youtube. We have iPhones, iPods, and so on. There's an app for everything.

I am proud to say I have had my Walkman for 12 years and he still works. There isn't a single scratch on his face. I don't know if he's made of Nokia phones or what, but whenever I have a bad day or I can't sleep, I still love slipping on my headphones at night and letting him rock me to sleep.

Happy Anniversary, pal.