Man's best friend or Pricey Music?

Do something you think is valuable have to be something pricey? Or can it be one always-memorable moment that stays in your thoughts forever? Modern day society is infatuated with new technology as new gadgets and gizmos are all the rage nowadays, but do you think that without them you wouldn’t be happy? Do you cherish the moments that stay present in your mind for a lifetime, or the technology-savvy new objects that are placed at ever-rising expensive prices?


I pull a jet-black hoody over my head and shut the door behind me. My black Labrador, Daisy, gallops out from underneath me. As she almost trips me she grabs the old and ripped ball in her mouth and utters a playful growl. She stares at me with happiness and joy. She rips the ball around, tearing more and more pieces of it off as she does. She wants to play, and the games will finally begin.

It all started back in July when my brother bought me a dog for my birthday. He was coming back after graduating from college, and on his way back from Colorado, he saw a sign for Labrador Retrievers. He knew I wanted a dog, and hastily chose the rambunctious one, knowing I would like her, and got on his way back to Massachusetts. When he first brought her to me, she ran to me and tackled me, licking me vigorously. She quickly became part of the family.

As we start to play, she runs circles around me, toying with me with the soccer ball falling half-way out of her mouth. I grab her, wrestle the toy away and kick it across my yard. Her spindly puppy legs fly out immediately to chase the ball with ease. She, with lightening speed, gets the ball back to me within seconds. This is the routine with her almost daily, and it’s what I love.


As I turn on my glossy iPod, I am still drowsy with sleep. Its azure plating shines from even the dim light in my bedroom. I rise with some soft rock and finally get on with the day. Since it’s not even six o’clock in the morning, I need everything I can to start the day off in as best of a way as possible. By the end of the day, I’m listening to some fast-beat hip-hop and heavy rock to get me ready for my game.

I first got my iPod a year ago for Christmas. It shone luminously when I first saw it, still in its case. I tore open the case as gently as possible, careful not to scratch its gleaming plating. I opened it and my face was in a grin ear-to-ear. Within the next week I had 300 songs and an abundant amount of videos and pictures saved to its memory. My iPod was now to be put into regular use almost daily, even after going through a washing machine three times.

I sluggishly step into my father’s car still with the sound of soft rock tuned into my ears. As he revs his engine of his “Tank,” a Chevrolet Two-door pickup truck, I am oblivious to the sound over the guitar solo by Coheed and Cambria. He then pulls out of the rain-slicked driveway and we embark on our journey. It takes a good forty minutes to get to school, being that I live in Palmer, but I manage with the help of my iPod. The shuffle setting is like heaven as I lay back and relax. I do this prolifically throughout the weeks. From the bus ride to long soccer games, or to the long rides to school, my iPod is always in my pocket playing some beats to either calm me down and relax, or get me pumped for a game.



What is, in actuality and reality, valuable? Spending time with my puppy and listening to my iPod are two completely different things, but are both invaluable. From my routines in the morning, my iPod gives me relief and relaxation during the late nights and early morning drives to school. Even on my way to games, it gets me pumped and ready to play. My trench-coated puppy is the same way. Sleeping in my bed with me at night, and playing with me during the day with her ripped soccer ball, she is loveable and playful yet always with me to comfort me in bad times, but keep me happy in good times. Even though there is always something I can do with my iPod, I prefer my dog-playing-days over any iPod usage ever. Even during the cold winter nights when my iPod is half frozen and not working, my dog is there to warm me up, sitting on the couch with me until we both fall asleep.