This story is part of 9to5Mac’s series celebrating Apple’s 50th anniversary.
It’s hard to put into words what Apple means to me. I know it’s odd to hear anyone say that a corporation “means” anything to them. But Apple’s not just a company, it’s an idea cooked up by two crazy ones in a garage 50 years ago.
It’s been a driving force in my life since I was conscious enough to know what a computer was. Apple taught me from a very young age to be curious not just about technology, but about everything.
I first experienced the magic of Apple when my dad showed me Photoshop on his PowerBook G3 Pismo as a little kid. This seminal moment birthed not just my love for Apple, but my fascination with technology, design and creativity. I’d see multi-colored iMacs in his office, at my cousins’ homes, and there were iBooks galore. We’ve been a Mac family since before I was born. I remember my grandma giving me my first iPod, going with my dad to buy the original iPhone, teaching my grandpa how to use his iPad when it first launched, my cousins teaching me how to burn CDs with iTunes, or attending countless Apple Camp sessions with my brother, these are just some of my fondest memories.
When I got that first iPod in 2005, it was truly over. I was hooked. Eventually I got my very own iPhone and iPad, both of which I spent summers mowing lawns, saving up to buy. I was lucky enough to sit down 1:1 with Woz in high school for a private chat and have made my way into a few Apple events where I’ve gotten to meet a whole slate of executives that unknowingly shaped my life. Meeting Woz a decade ago reminded me about the joy that technology can bring and that playfulness can coexist with ambition. My walls are adorned with vintage ads, my shelves hold nearly every book ever written on the company, and I’ve got more white boxes than I know what to do with. Suffice to say, Apple’s shaped nearly every aspect of my life and has never stopped meaning the world to me.
As important as the brand is, it pales in comparison to the impact that Steve Jobs himself had on my psyche and my life. As a kid, I didn’t have prints of actors or athletes, I had prints of Steve. I’d give faux keynotes in front of the family iMac. I dedicated my college essay to him as an analysis and expansion on his iconic 1994 interview, where he said “everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it.”
To me, those words were the most important he ever spoke. He inspired me to work my hardest, no matter what the task was. That I could make anything happen if I set my mind to it. While I’ll never have the chance to thank him for inspiring me, I hope that continuing to cherish the brand he built and by living these ideals, the ones that have made Apple, Apple, I can honor him every day.
So here’s to the crazy ones. Here’s to the Steves. Here’s to everyone who has contributed to the products that changed my life. Here’s to 50 more years of an idea that’s so much bigger than a computer company. Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
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