The Beginning of My Tech Journey

I was introduced to a personal computer for the first time when I was in the sixth grade, some time around the year 1987. The computer was an Apple IIe and I was mesmerized by its pixelated green screen and its ability to play The Oregon Trail.

There was a PC in my classroom at school and also several more PCs in the school's computer lab. Getting to use these computers was a treat and definitely helped me to fall in love with technology. Personal computers did not exist anywhere else in my life or in the lives of most people at that time. Not only were the computers themselves something new and different but everything surrounding them was also foreign. For example, the computer lab had to be outfitted with whiteboards instead of chalkboards to prevent chalk dust from causing harm to the computers. Also, the teacher who taught the computer classes had this seemingly superhuman ability to type without even looking at the keyboard, and she typed with such speed and accuracy it boggled my mind.

The real fun began when they started teaching programming in computer class. Using a programming language called Logo, I learned to programmatically draw lines and shapes on screen and learned some fundamental computer science concepts. There was an object on screen called a "turtle" (it was just a triangle shape) and it would move around the screen as my program would execute and draw the lines I had programmed.

It was an exciting time and I was happy to be a part of it. These experiences shaped me and gave me an interest in technology that is still going strong today.