When technology is good, it is almost indistinguishable from magic. The magic technology produces inspires innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. The inspirational influence of technology is what drawn me to technology. My love passion for technology goes back to an early place in my childhood when I received my first Gameboy.
From early on, I have always had a natural affinity for video games. Some of my earliest childhood memories were playing the original Mario on the first Nintendo. It was a common place for me and my dad to spend an hour or so playing videos during downtime in the house. I received my first Gameboy as a gift from my dad while he was on a deployment. At the time, I was between 3 and 4 years old. On this day in particular, I arrive home from day care and my mom told me I had received a package in the mail. At the time, I was old enough to know that if I ever got any mail if was almost certainly a gift. I anxiously took the box to the living room to open it. After wrestling with the box to get it open, I finally open the box and see it is a Gameboy.
At that exact moment, I did not know exactly what it was . It was a pretty bulky device compared to my small hands. Was not exactly heavy but was not light. I continued to inspect the device trying to discover why would my dad send this to me.
I was not able to read at the time but I could recognize letters. I noticed that the same word “Nintendo” that was printed on the Gameboy was also the same word on the video console in my room. Eventually, I was able to locate the power button to turn it on. The moment the words “Mario Bros.” came on the screen it all hit me. The same games that I enjoyed in my room are the same games that I could now enjoy in the palm of my hands. Knowing that I no longer needed a power cord or a TV to enjoy videos games left me in awe. My mind could not comprehend how this was possible. Unable to fully comprehend the concepts that made this feat possible, I begin to badger your mom with question after question. How does it work? Is it mine? Where is the power cord? After getting the questions answer to my satisfaction, I return to my room to enjoy the Gameboy in front of my Nintendo.
While I was always keen of video games, the Gameboy was more than just a video game for me. The Gameboy was a connection to a dad who was deployed to some remote location. The Gameboy is what reall initially sparked my interest in technology. After receiving the Gameboy, I instantly started a quest to find out what all technology could do. It eventually became a ritual to receive a gift anytime my dad left for deployment. He would always send me whatever popular technology the country he was deployed had. I would tinker around with it and we would discuss what we both liked and disliked about it once he had free time to call. Although eventually my Gameboy died, my love for technology has continually grown stronger.