This was originally written the night Steve Jobs died, and I published it on my Tumblr on October 6, 2011. I was in college and aimlessly riding the train around downtown Chicago. I used to be embarrassed by how much I admired Steve Jobs. The guy was a billionaire with flaws that are the stuff of legend. Either way, his death provoked a feeling of loss I hadn’t felt before. The man, or maybe the myth, changed the way I saw and interacted with the world. It might still be naive, but I think I’m happier because he existed.
Steve Jobs, who I’ve admired since I was in sixth grade, has passed away.
A little over a month ago he retired from Apple, the company he built from the ground up (twice).
Christmas, 2001. My parents said they got me a puppy. Instead, they brought out a giant box with a white iMac. The very first 5 gigabyte, hard drive based iPod accompanied it. I didn’t know what it was. I was eleven.
It has almost been ten years since I received my first computer.
People think it’s silly how attached we become to our computers, our phones, our game consoles, whatever. But if you were like me, your computer changed your life. Your computer made you a nerd. Your computer made you friends (yes, in real life). Your computer gave you your first job. Your computer gave you access to any and every bit of information you needed and more.
Without Steve making that silly bubble computer called the iMac, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. If my parents hadn’t thought, “Oh, that’s a cute PC. And it’s easy enough for our eleven year old to use to write papers!” I don’t think I’d be half of the person I am today. All this might sound silly, but if you know me then you get that it’s true.
Steve, I truly believe you made the world a better place. I know you made me a better person.
Thank you.