Mark

Sarah Vowell partakes in a job where she is required to make mix tapes for others. Music is a way to express love without having to actually say anything yourself. It’s created to be shared. After receiving this job, she knows that her friend Dave has a new lady in his life, so she took the time to create a mix tape for his lover. Dave claimed that his love was “not sentimental”, so Sarah took the time to create a more romantic improvement for him. Dave loved the mix tape when he heard it, but apparently his new lady didn’t. “Dave had a problem that all the love songs in the world couldn’t solve. He liked the songs I picked; he just didn’t mean what the songs said.” I think this was apparent when he had to have a mix tape made, instead of creating it, or actually saying “I love you” out loud.


I personally have never sent a mix tape, or song to anyone that I’ve ever “loved” because I refuse to fall in love with someone. I’m afraid that once I start to love someone, I’ll lose them. I had one experience with infatuation, but I eventually just ended up leading this kid Alex on for a year. I sent him “Elephants” by Warpaint, and I know that it sent him the wrong message, but I’m extremely happy it worked out that way. We now aren’t on speaking terms, and I’m thankful for that. I knew that if I continued to talk to him, I would have broken him as a person. I was almost to that point, and I knew that I couldn’t return his love. It was unrequited. I saw him as a little brother, not as a significant other. There was no connection there. I believe if I ever do fall in love though that mix tapes will be a big part of the relationship, especially since I struggle connecting and sharing about my emotions.