The Legacy of Steve Jobs

By Elizabeth Flores                                        

You never know how big something is until you hear a number thrown at you: how does 5 million iPhones 5’s sold sound to you? Not a lot, you say? Well, that changes when you hear that that figure is based on sales in a weekend’s timespan. It is amazing how one simple device can change the way we do everyday activities, such as waking up by using it as your alarm clock. 

We are all familiar with Apple and its revolutionary products, but how well do we know the man who was behind the brand. Steve Jobs was a man driven by passion and the idea that he could change the world one chip at a time; his accomplishments have helped shape technology to its very best.

Steve Jobs was blessed with many things in his life, but from the beginning he was given a lot to deal with. Steve was born February 24, 1955 in Golden Gate Bridge-beautiful San Francisco, California. His parents, Joanne and Abdulfattah (John), were recent graduate students of Wisconsin university and decided to give Steve up for adoption. Luckily for Steve, he was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs, a loving middle class family who resided in the silicon valley of California. 

Steve’s favorite pastime was rebuilding electronics with his father, which says a lot about how his love for electronics came to be. Although he was extremely bright and gifted, just like any kid his age he loved to play pranks on people, especially on his teachers. Imogene Hill, his 4th grade teacher, once said that in order for her to get him to study she would have to bribe him with $5 bills and candy.

Steve was offered the possibility to go into high school at an earlier age but his parents denied the offer, so when Steve finally reached Homestead High School, he met his future business partner, Steve Wozniack, someone instrumental to his huge success. Steve wasn’t much for college as he dropped out and decided to travel to India to find some kind of enlightenment. It wasn’t until he was 21 years old that he started Apple Computers in his garage. What’s more impressive was that he began this company with very little money. Steve sold his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak sold his scientific calculator to front the money for the business. Can you imagine running your own business at that age? Talk about dedication.

After many years Steve resigned from Apple after he built the company to its maximum and began his own software and hardware company called NeXt. After he didn’t see the results he expected, he bought Pixar, which we all know due to movies like “Finding Nemo” and “Toy Story.” He later returned to Apple and went on to introduce new products such as the MacBook Air, IPod and IPhone, all of which revolutionized electronics. 

Steve was sick with pancreatic cancer but wasn’t prepared to publicly announce it due to fear of Apple stock plummeting, but that didn’t stop him, it made him stronger. And his dedication for Apple just increased, all the while bringing to us products that some of us can’t live with out today.

After a long battle Steve passed away in 2011 at the age of 56 years old, leaving behind his legacy in technology and allowing aspiring technology lovers to follow in his footsteps. Steve once said, “Those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do,” an inspirational quote from an inspirational man who not only changed technology but changed the way we do things at every moment.