I’ve been using proton for several years and have not found it annoying.

Not sure what you’ve heard is annoying.

If you don’t mind sharing, what education do you have, and what are you currently doing for work?

The “college experience” is different for everyone. It’s also a relatively short period of your life. Instead of looking back with regret or dissapointment, look forward to what you can do after you graduate. Find community in your next endeavor, settle in, find ways you can help those in need around you. Plan adventures, build relationships with those you care about. It’s technically possible to settle somewhere and grow roots.

No, a short is a break in the wire. The wire is made up of multiple strands of copper, like a rope. If you shift the wire around, you can cause them to touch and continue to conduct. If the short isn’t very bad, this can be an intermittent issue, as time goes on it will get worse.

Low voltage electronics, like earbuds aren’t that dangerous. I was using a drill recently that I knew had a short in it and was just moving it around to make contact so I could finish the job. The cord eventually caught fire and I had to replace it.

There is probably a short in the cord. In my experience that tends to be a common failure point in that system.