Connecting the dots
I bought my first Apple product on September 17, 2005—a black 4GB iPod nano. Two days prior my girlfriend of 5 years had broken up with me, and I was heartbroken. Completely heartbroken. The night of the sixteenth I cried all night, without sleep. I felt like I had been stripped bare and left for dead.
Somehow, I had seen the keynote where Steve asked what the small pocket on his jeans was for. I had to see this thing in person. So on the seventeenth, after a night of crying, I pulled myself together and went to the Barnes and Noble at Georgia Tech to see the new iPod nano in their Apple section upstairs. The moment I picked it up was the first time I had smiled in two very long days.
Fast forward to December 2007. It was nearing the end of the year, and I wanted to think different for 2008. It had been a difficult year. In January I was in a car accident in front of my parents’ house that cracked two ribs and bruised my left lung, causing me to cough up blood. My first Mac, purchased April 19, 2006, was stolen on March 1, 2007 when my left side was just beginning to feel normal again. I was feeling lost in college, and my grades reflected my lack of direction. I had serious talks with my professors, the dean, and the registrar that had me doubting myself in dark ways.
But, throughout it all, I was loving my iPod and my newly replaced MacBook Pro. I engulfed myself in music, notably Bob Dylan, in a way I had never known possible. I learned of Steve’s fondness for Dylan. A kindred spirit, I thought. I decided I would start 2008 by applying to work for Apple.
In May I was hired as a Specialist. I had never worked for a large company before, and I had never worked in retail before. It was thrilling, difficult, fun, and tiring. I met great people and made lifelong friends. After six months, I left the company to finish college, and in August 2009, I did. I graduated into a stagnant job market with limited employment opportunities. Serendipity brought me to have a couple interviews at a software company across the street from Lenox Square Mall. All the while I was being interviewed, where hollow claims and business jargon were the order of the day, my thoughts kept drifting to Apple.
“We passionately engage customers, showcase our technology, and help them discover how our products can enrich their lives.” Enrich their lives.
“At Apple our most important resource, our soul, is our people.” Our soul is our people.
I left my second interview and reapplied to Apple. I was rehired in April 2010, and this time I worked for the company for a year and a quarter, leaving on July 29, 2011 for a new job to be closer to my family. My heart fell as I left. I miss seeing my friends’ faces every day. And I miss seeing that moment when people experience something only Apple can do. The light in their eyes, the smiles, the laughter. Sometimes the tears.
The point in telling all this is this: I love Apple. Some of the best things I’ve ever owned and some of the most meaningful relationships and experiences of my life have come from Apple. From Apple.
From Steve.
This is how you can mourn the loss of a man whom you’ve never personally known. Because in looking back, you can connect the dots, and one of the figures in my dots is Steve.
To his family and friends, I offer my sincerest condolences. Your husband, your father, your friend meant a lot to me, too.
