Before the age of the Spotify and Apple Music, there was the iPod, a nifty device capable of storing thousands of songs within the palm of your hand. The iPod still exists in the form of the iPod shuffle, Nano, and Touch, but the missing component from these devices compared to the ones of yesteryear is the click wheel. Having the touch screen now, life is more convenient. Physically being able to scroll and swipe to exactly the application or song one wants to listen to is convenient. The generation that grew up with having touch devices have missed out on the click wheel and the struggle of spinning on the white wheel and clicking the middle button to make a selection.

About a week ago, I realized that I have had my iPod Nano since seventh grade (roughly 2007/2008). It's pretty beat up, with scratches on the front screen and all over the mirrored back from the lack of having a case. There's also a big dent in the bottom left corner from the time I dropped it in the street while trying to catch my bus to school. I also think that this thing has gone through the laundry not once, but twice. I have not done any kinds of tampering with my iPod, whether it's a battery upgrade or changing a faceplate. Despite all of this, my iPod is still going strong.

Though I do have an iPhone, capable of holding as much music as my old iPod, being able to have a device strictly for music means I don't have to touch my phone on my commute to school or work. It also means I have a couple extra gigabytes of space for applications, documents to read and photos. The only downside I have with my iPod is that it's not sync-able at the moment. It is tethered to a computer that is broken. If I decide I wanted to add new music to it, I can't, unless I want to lose the music I've listened to since my early teen years.

I have absolutely no problem using streaming services. I also have no problem listening to an ad or two about a new movie coming out that I may have missed. I have Spotify playlists to fulfill any kind of mood I'm in and even if I didn't, there's also the easy access to collaborate with people to create playlists. The downside to having the free version of Spotify, on a phone, is that you can't pick what song you want to listen to. The only option is to shuffle through songs, and if you don't like what came up, you only get six skips per hour. But to access the features such as picking the songs you want to listen to or saving playlists to the phone, one has to have the paid upgrade. Though it's not a lot of money for college students ($4.99 per month for 12 months), music will still take up a lot of space on the phone. I have a lot of music that I want to keep on me at any time.

Though I can't add any more music to it, I still appreciate that this iPod has lasted me this long. Fingers crossed I can get another seven years listening to the same music of my teenager years.

To end the article, I wanted to share my top ten songs played on my iPod, according to the automatically generated playlist.

1. "Sugar We're Going Down" / From Under the Cork Tree (2005) - Fall Out Boy
2. " Miracle" / Riot! (2007) - Paramore
3. "Impossible" / Dark is the Way, Light is a Place (2010) - Anberlin
4. "Feel Good Inc." / Demon Days (2005) - Gorillaz
5. "Vegas Skies" / Whisper War (2008) - The Cab
6. "Burning Love" (1972) - Elvis Presley
7. "It's Time" / Night Visions (2012) - Imagine Dragons
8. "Thank You for the Music" / ABBA: The Album (1977) - ABBA
9. "I'm All Over It" / The Pursuit (2009) - Jamie Cullum
10. "Hey Jude" (1968) - The Beatles

If you still have an iPod, why do you still have one? Or have you transitioned to having only a smartphone with all your music?

Leave a comment below with your answers!