6th October 2011 ( Malaysian Time )
I woke up this morning and did the usual…
I brushed my teeth, washed my face, put on my glasses, and checked my iPod for updates in the world. Then it hit me. I looked at my iPod and said, “your maker’s no longer with us.”
Ugh, I suck.
Just last year, my parents decided to show my brother and I how much they loved us by buying a couple MacBook Pros and letting us call them our own. About a year prior, they bought us each an iPod Touch. What amazing parents. If you were to ask my brother and I how these gadgets have changed our lives, we’d probably both tell you that we… can’t say. Then, you’d check your email the following day and find essays from both him and I on how exactly our lives have changed. And there would be no grammatical errors whatsoever. At least not in mine.
Call me “dramatic”, but I honestly don’t think my life would be complete without my MacBook Pro or my iPod. I would not be the person I am today if Apple had not existed. I would not be able to do what I do in the way that I do it if Steve Jobs had not embraced nonconformity and originality. What I want to do with my life and how I intend on making a living revolves strictly around the computer and I can’t imagine ever doing anything else. Steve Jobs has inspired me greatly to pursue whatever is in my heart in a way that I’m comfortable with. And I have every intention of doing so. I’m sure my parents didn’t think much of getting the MacBook Pros for us at the time… but I want nothing more than for them to be able to say that it was one of the best decisions they have ever made in their lives. And soon, they will. They WILL say that it was one of the best decisions they have ever made in their lives. They will see how these gifts would not only go on to play a huge part in the future careers of their beloved children, but in their lives as everyday members of society as well. Then, they will thank God, for not only blessing them with the funds… but also for blessing the mind of Steve Jobs. For if it were not for his mind, which led to his inventions, their children and millions of other young people in the world, would not be living their dreams by doing what they love and making a living. AT THE SAME TIME.
Did you call me “dramatic” yet? Because if you didn’t, now would be an appropriate time.
The news of his death was a lot harder for me than I thought it would be. After my brother told me to turn on to CNN, and after seeing what I saw, I threw the remote control on the couch, put down my bowl of cereal, and while screaming the word “no” repeatedly, I ran upstairs. To figure out what the hell was going on (on my MacBook, of course). After receiving confirmation from several different sources, confirmation of which I do not know why I needed (I first heard about Steve’s passing through CNN), I immediately felt a dark cloud float over me. I don’t know whether or not it was because of the fact that I was a human being and deaths are tragic to most human beings, or because it simply WAS just a terrible, personal loss for me. Yes, a personal loss. I have never had any form of interaction with him before but I was still deeply saddened. Despite all the media attention that was focused on him and the apparent signs of his deteriorating health, his passing was still… seemingly sudden. It was too soon. I was in shock. Not to mention surprised. Because he was gone, but also at how upset I was. I have never even met this man before, and I feel like I had just been kicked in the stomach. It’s been a few days since the news broke, and I still can’t quite understand why his death’s had such an impact on me.
Maybe it’s because HE had an impact on me. Why wouldn’t he? Look at what he’s done. He didn’t come from much, he dropped out of college, he was homeless at one point, then he changed the world. He faced obstacle after obstacle, but never gave up. I have no excuse. And neither do any of you. What Steve Jobs has proven to the world is that there is no valid reason why any of us can’t be great, or different, or more than what people expect us to be.
I am still very upset. And I know I’m not the only one. To many people, the loss of Steve Jobs was a personal one. Without ever experiencing any form of interaction with him, many of us are torn apart by the fact that he is no longer with us. We’re even more torn apart by the fact that we’ve never experienced any form of interaction with him. It’s amazing how the passing of someone whom most of us have never met, can have such a strong impact on our emotions. It really shows how much he’s touched all our lives and changed it for the better.
Steve Jobs gave us things we never knew we wanted. Steve Jobs taught us that we should go after what we believe in. Steve Jobs taught us that it was okay to be different. Steve Jobs made us all want to be different.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Here’s to Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011) .
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