Technology innovator dies leaving strong message
Steve Jobs passed away Wednesday, leaving the Apple faithful stunned, saddened and trying to imagine a different Apple, one completely without Steve Jobs.
There will be plenty of articles and columns for us to read waxing poetic about Jobs' life, his character and his impact as a leader. But, as college students, we can all learn a critical life lesson from Jobs: "Think different."
It's hard at times to simply think for ourselves. We spend all week in classrooms with professors telling us what to think about and how to think about it, in pursuit of a college degree.
But Jobs rejected this notion. He dropped out of Reed College after six months. And then he became a titan of industry, an entrepreneur who has in his lifetime defined the world of personal computing.
If we should take anything away from Jobs' life, we should take to heart that we are obligated to ourselves, our country and society as a whole, to "think different."
The biggest inventions that changed our lives weren't conjured out of a textbook, or in a 300-person lecture. They were dreamt, designed and implemented by people who simply thought for themselves and rejected the idea that the "textbook" answer is the right one.
Steve Jobs' passing is heartbreaking to some, gut-wrenching to others. But we should all relish the mind that he possessed and how he used it to better the world through technology.
We can only hope that in the future, his creation — Apple Inc. — bears the torch Jobs lit and continues the mantra he made famous.
And the next time you pick up your iPod or open your Macbook, remember Jobs' legacy as a visionary, not a man of the status quo, and challenge yourself to "think different."
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