I had grown up being cautious about Apple products my whole life, mostly from my parents’ dislike of them (and their price tag), and my PC-prude friends. I envied those lucky kids that had iPods, and when I finally got mine many years later, it was taken away from me in a fiery car crash almost as quickly as I had unwrapped it. Sore was I from this incident that I still had a chip on my shoulder going into art school, where I encountered my first Mac computers, and instinctively, avoided them like the plague.
As projects and availability required, I stomached the usage of one MacPro in the labs. The experience was immediately exhilarating, and I felt as though I had committed some crime or the ultimate betrayal. It was sinful, I was guilty, and then… it was special. I had never known that a computer could be so much a part of you. After that day, I cherished the use of the MacBooks and Pros at school and the iMac my boyfriend owned like the rare moments when your parents told you you could order any dessert at a restaurant.
This exposure should have rendered me more open minded to the coming of the iPhone, and later the iPad. To my chagrin, fear still simmered in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn’t justify buying one - I didn’t need it, it was just trendy. Working for a company where websites had to be made responsive for the two devices, however, slowly softened my outlook. Instead of reluctantly moving back and forth between computer screen and iOS to ensure perfection, I found myself looking at email and screwing around with apps, reading blogs and watching videos. My heart sank a little as I caught myself wishing for any, or all of them.
With this new realization, I ground the stone hard, saving as much as I could into the fund for a new computer, all the while battling with a failing PC laptop and an inability to create efficiently. And in contrast to the slow crawl of my money-saving, I was introduced so fast into the world of Apple that I still can’t believe it. I finally had enough for my tricked out, 27inch iMac just as my laptop quit for good, and it has been a radical change to my work and everyday computing. My uncle, to my surprise, was moved by my self-inflicted depravity and sent me his old 3rd gen iPod Touch. I was glued to the screen yesterday for the Let’s Talk iPhone event, excited for news about the iPhone4S which I plan to buy. In addition, I have started a new fund for an iPad 2.
While it was a long time coming, I can say that the struggle was worth it, and even though I am so newly indoctrinated into the Apple-lifestyle, I can say that I am proud to have enjoyed being linked to Steve Jobs, even if it was for the smallest measure of time. I know the glory of all of his and Apple’s achievements and accolades has been spread round and round the internet, and I doubt that I could add anything more significant. I only hope to be able to continue to embrace change and self-improvement as he did.
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
- Steve Jobs
Thank you, Steve Jobs, for opening my eyes to a world of beautiful innovation.
