An Ode To My iPod Classic

We first met in 2008, on one of the biggest days of my life. College Graduation Day.

Little did I know back then, but you would prove to outlast almost everything and everyone in my life at the time. I outgrew my clothes, outgrew some friends, even outgrew the city where we met, but never outgrew you. You were always down to go, always down for another adventure,always there when I needed to calm down, focus, get hype, any emotion I wanted to accomplish you were there to help me.

I.Loved.You.

Now I was always taught that you are not to love the material things in life, but you, you surpassed all those walls I had put up. All the boxes/bags/backpacks I left you in, you always made it out and ended up right back in my arms. You lasted through all the questionable downloads from limewire, all of my playlist experiments, all of the random music I uploaded to you every time I was around a new music library. You never let me down. You allowed me to use you to curate my ultimate playlist, never once freezing on me, or giving me a blank screen. You were my ride or die.

But no love story is complete without the bumps in the road. I know I ‘Iost’ you for a short time, and admittedly I didn’t exactly do my best detective work to find you. Let’s face it, the ipod shuffle, touch, and iPhone were all making their grand debuts, and you, you were the one that was left behind — no outfit change for you, just the same old classic. No one talked about your kind anymore. I barely even saw anyone with anything that looked like you. I became…embarrassed. Embarrassed that I had not kept up. Embarrassed to be carrying around something that wasn’t small enough to clip to a belt, or so tech-savvy that my fingertips did all the work on the almighty touchscreen, just the same old click-wheel.

It wasn’t you, it was me. I stopped loving you, or so I thought..

It was on that fateful late night cleaning spree that I bumped into you, and all the old memories of dance parties, mini-concerts in the car, and the ultimate showcases complete with dancing, air guitars, unbearable “singing,” and the stage (read: ledge by the window) came rushing back. And just like that I was hooked. My love instantly resurfaced. I felt like I had just been given the best gift a closet full of stuff could produce, and I didn’t wait to enjoy it! Plugging my headphones in I immediately turned you on, and there it was, my masterpiece of music. From the very first listen I knew I wouldn’t let you go again. Nothing was going to keep me from showing you off to the world like I had just acquired the latest and greatest piece of tech around. And when I stopped to think about it, I realized that you had always been the best I ever had.

Why mess with a good thing when it’s already a Classic.