My iBook, Samantha
I had a post lined up for today that focused on my upcoming trip to Costa Rica, but it seems more fitting to reflect on Steve Jobs’ passing and the ways in which he revolutionized technology and communication. I first went to Europe when I was 12 years old. My grandparents took me to see my cousins in Ireland and I was thrilled for everything to be different from home: driving on the left, a new currency, English with an accent and even a new language (my family is from Inishmore, where Irish is the dominant language). Home seemed far away. And, without a cell phone, Skype or Facetime, it really was. I never called home, only wrote postcards and the pictures I took were trapped on my camera, just waiting to be shared, until I returned home to develop them.
Fast forward to 2011. When I land in a new country I can text that I’ve arrived safely. I can connect my iPhone to wifi and call home for practically free. When my dad was visiting his brother in North Carolina, I used Facetime to give everyone a tour of my new apartment. Everyone might be traveling more, but everything seems closer.
So thank you, Steve Jobs, for advancing not only technology, but advancing our relationships. One school of thought tells us that leading a digital life actually promotes great isolation as we spend more and more time in front of our screens. While I can see that to be true for some, it has not been true for me. The entire reason my husband and I first started dating was because of technology. He was in Australia and I was in Boston, and things would stay like that for nearly a year, only seeing each other twice. Without communication then, we’d never be where we are now.
I found this video (below) of Jobs’ commencement address to the Stanford graduating class. It doesn’t talk so much about connecting with others, which I do believe will be his greatest legacy, but rather he encourages the class to pursue the things that make them happy. Its made me think a lot about what is happy in my life versus what I can leave behind. And with that, I can’t wait for Costa Rica in just 2 weeks. Spending time with who I love while traveling around and learning…that is what is happy for me. Thanks, Steve.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UF8uR6Z6KLc#]
What a great way to start the day, words of wisdom from Chandra DiGregorio and Steve Jobs! Thanks.