Essay Samples: The Unexpected Friendship. The Role of MP3 Players.

Prompt 1 - The Unexpected Friendship

I had just entered the office at exactly 7.45 am. I remember quite well how things occurred that day one after the other. My boss entered as I was preparing to start working accompanied by a lady with who I had not met before. In his hand, he held a white envelope. He handed it to me and requested me to read it. Immediately I opened the envelope, as I was eager to read the message in it. Maybe, it could be instructions for my next assignment. Unfortunately, it was a retrenchment letter. I have just been fired without a notice. In my disbelief, the lady who entered the office together with my boss was the next one to take my position in the company. My boss came to me, introduced her and confirmed her as the new employee to replace me. I realized that it was serious and I have to leave the office immediately, go home and wait for the month to end to get my paycheck and all the benefits of the company. There was no time for handing over the job. Slowly, I picked my belongings and walked out of the office. I did not notice how tense I was at that time.

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On my out of the building, I hit a customer at the entrance. Ooh! I am so sorry, I said. The customer looked at me; he was astonished of what came over me. I looked strong, focused and stable. However, I realized that I had just lost focus on everything. My mind was blank. He told me, it is okay, I am heading to the insurance office upstairs. You look disturbed; can I be of help? He asked. I ignored him at first, as he was a stranger and I had just hit him. As I walked away, he just followed. He doubted my sanity and if I would make moving from one point to the other with my unstable focus. A car could hit you on your way; I heard a voice behind me. I turned, it was him coming towards me. He held me and said you cannot move around in your unstable focus. This time, I listened. He said, could we take a coffee in the restaurant across. I realized his willingness and the genuine person he was. I accepted the offer not realizing I have just made a lasting friend unexpectedly.

At the restaurant, we had time to talk. He asked me what could be the problem such an early morning. I explained my predicament that I had just been fired and I urgently need a job to sustain my family. I am stranded on where to begin with my life. Oooh! I am so sorry, that is why you hit me at the entrance without noticing your way out, he said. Yeah, I guess, I replied. As a way of comforting me and helping me to go through the difficult moment, the new friend I had just met unexpectedly started narrating a similar incident he went through two years ago. After listening to him, I obtained the courage to face a new reality in my life of starting to look for a job and stay calm as things unfold to normal with time. After the coffee, he took me to the bus stop, my new friend ensured I boarded the bus and paid the ticket for my safety. However, he did not forget to ask for my business card as he handed his to me. I traveled home and he went back to his activities.

Knowing that it was the end of that day and promising myself things will be fine, my new friend called me every evening to find out how I was. He would console me, advise on alternatives and often invite me for coffee. I started realizing life was not difficult as I thought earlier after being fired that day. It took me three months to get another job. However, that period would not have been easy to go through without the moral support that my new friend gave me. I thank God; I met him at that time unexpectedly.

The unexpected friendship taught me different things and in various ways. I learned that unexpected friendships could be the best. By helping a person even if it is a stranger, one never knows it could last a lifetime. A friend is a shoulder that one can cry on, laugh, share and a mirror for guidance in life. Helping people when they least expect that from you is an act of sympathy. Sympathizing with people is important when they need it at their challenging moments. It gives them light and inspires their dreams. Through this friendship, I realized that I needed to step out of my comfort zone and accept others who come into my life. I may never know what they can bring. Until today, we are still friends and helping one another in many ways. This friendship taught me that a stranger could also leave a deep yearning that can stay with a person for the entire life as it happened when I met my friend unexpectedly.

Prompt 2 - The Role of MP3 Players

Yes, personal music players such as MP3s isolate their users and hamper social interact. When a teenager or a young adult is wearing an ear bud, listening to music from an MP3, it is evident that their concentration on other matters is limited. In my opinion, these music players isolate the individual from the social world and remain in their own world of music. According to Scanland (2013), MP3s concentrate on building the 'affect' of the individual by creating a personal space for the listener and enable them to focus on one's emotional state. In such a situation, when interacting with others, a teenager or adult with an ear bud listening to personal music from MP3, it is not possible to pay attention to what a friend and others are saying during a conversation, discussion or any other social interaction. The MP3 player has turned its entire headphone wearing users into anti-social people (Castella, 2011). While wearing the ear bud listening to music from an MP3, half of the humankind is wired up to a universe that is parallel and leaving the surroundings as well as the fellow man oblivious.

Every other person would support my view that wearing one ear bud listening to personal music on MP3 and carrying on a conversation with others is a rude behavior. The person does not pay attention, as the focus is on the self-emotion obtained from the music. Listening to music is an activity that carries the entire brain and the listener remains isolated even when in a social interaction. It is not possible to divide the brain to concentrate on music and a conversation at the same time. While the teenager pretends to be listening, many of the times one will ask their other to repeat what they had said during a conversation. It is offensive and the other person will withdraw the conversation of discussion. Therefore, it is rude to wear ear bud(s) when having a conversation with others.

Such devices like the MP3 should be set aside in some situations to promote social interaction and even safety. During situations such as conversations and discussions, MP3s should be set aside to allow the listener concentrate on what is happening and what other people are saying. Other people would agree with me because the use of personal music has caused many misunderstandings and avoidable stereotypes in the society. Those listening to MP3s are stereotyped as anti-social and rude as they care less about what others are saying during a conversation. For example, when a teenager is participating in a class discussion with others in a group, it is important to listen to each other's views and contributions to the discussion. When that teenager is on an earbud, it is not possible to hear or contribute to the group discussion. Apart from the failure to learn, the teenager also loses friends who do not want to be associated with a loner or an antisocial person. The members of the group will assume that the teenager is rude and not willing to participate in the group. Therefore, listening MP3 music should be set aside in such a situation. When walking and talking with a friend, MP3s should also be set aside for safety concerns. When talking to each other, people want to listen and be listened. They also want to know what is happening in the surrounding. One instance that setting aside ear bud listening to music from an MP3 is when walking on the road while talking. The friend who has earbuds have high chances of being hit by a vehicle since the major concentration is on the music. Even with a warning from the friend, such a teenager may not hear the warning and keep walking without noticing the danger. Therefore, MP3s not only hamper social interaction, they are also dangerous as they compromise the safety of the users.

References

Castella, T. (2011, September). Has the iPod made us anti-social? BBC News Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-15066957

Skanland, M. S. (2013). Everyday music listening and affect regulation: The role of MP3 players. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 8, 1-10.