Wall post after wall post, tweet after tweet, the world lamented the tragic passing of one of our generation’s greatest minds. President Obama commented saying “the world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.” Although Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, passed away last week, he leaves us with a message all college students should take to heart.
School’s tough. We procrastinate. We hate exams and papers. But sometimes we think a C+ might mean an end our futures. Jobs never graduated from college, dropping out of classes at Reed College after his first year and dropping in on the classes in which he took interest. One of them: a calligraphy class. He learned typography and about the spacing in between letters. Here, originated the idea for fonts on the first Mac computer.
In a commencement speech at Stanford University, Jobs said dropping out of college was the best decision he ever made. He wasn’t saying we should drop out of school. But by dropping out he was able to determine what made him tick. What we are reminded is to not sweat the small stuff. We can all use a dose of perspective.
“You can only connect the dots looking backwards,” Jobs told the eager graduates. Jobs eloquently told the crowd you have to trust in something: in your gut, in destiny, in life, in karma, whatever. Follow your heart, even if it leads you off the well-worn path. There is no reason not to. In fact, we think that might be better. It’ll lead to a life more exciting, less ordinary.
Jobs’ last words to the crowd: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” So, if you’re sitting in Norlin, in class, or in your bed take some advice from the man who invented the computer you’re probably reading this on and go make today count. Oh, and watch this video, too.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter.