Picture this: you come home after a long day of work. You're tired, bored, and want to listen to some music. You plug in your record player, pick an album, lift the lid and carefully place the vinyl on the turntable. Then, ever so gently, you fix the needle onto the record, and the album begins. To some, that may seem like a lot of steps compared to going on Spotify on your phone and having any song you want at the push of a button, but don't these extra steps teach us to appreciate simpler times?

Sure, playing a vinyl is much more time consuming, but for me, it serves as a reminder to slow down. All day we rush around at work or school finishing projects and hurrying to other activities, and never seem to find the time to do anything. Having a few moments a day where we aren't expected to finish things immediately or demand information on our computers in a few seconds is priceless. Besides, as a music snob, I've always found vinyls to sound better than any MP3 out there, but maybe that's just wishful thinking after spending $30 for a single record.

Especially for Millennials, we are what some call the “microwave” generation. We are so used to getting everything now that when we have to wait for anything, it automatically takes too much time. Maybe this is why so many in our generation have reverted back to using Polaroid cameras and old film; we crave the simplicity of an older age, where things moved slower, but lasted longer.

I don't want to come across as one of those “I was born in the wrong generation” people, but we should all admit that in a world where technology is constantly changing, it's nice to reflect on where we came from and prevent great tools of the past from being forgotten about or going obsolete.

If you can, I encourage you to pick up a vinyl. Smell the dirt embedded in its ridges, and listen to an album all the way through without skipping to your favorite song. Learn to appreciate a complete work, and love the singles as much as the filler songs. If your record gets scratched or worn, who cares? You now have a permanent reminder of how much you love an opus, something you can't get from listening to a song online. Wait for the good songs to come, and enjoy the musical journey along the way.