Recently, the world mourned the loss of a revolutionary figure: Steve Jobs. Jobs reconciled philosophy, courage and technology to significantly alter the way that we look at the world.
Jobs' success goes beyond Apple. He defined this era of technology with a passionate drive to simply live the life that he loved. His heartbreaking death reminds us to keep alive the boldness and fearlessness of his personality.
Once a student like many of us, Jobs sought a sense of identity during the beginning stages of his college career. However, instead of conforming to the norms of the academic culture of his time, Jobs went his own way.
Many of us who must deal with financial or social hardships or a lost sense of self often believe that there is no alternative. Instead of finding another way, we continue on the conventional path of life so as not to risk uncertainty. Somehow we've equated convenient settlement to happiness.
I hope that Jobs' life journey can teach us that there is always another way to succeed and be happy - and this way is not always through complete normalcy.
As a nonconformist by nature, Jobs dropped out of college simply because he knew that spending his parent's well-earned money on tuition was not beneficial anymore. After attending only six months of college, Jobs found himself in dangerous territory; with no money and no degree, he had no idea where he was going with his life. Despite his confusion and frustration, Jobs vehemently relied on one virtue to get him through this precarious time in his life: trust.
Fiercely independent of the watchful eyes of a judgmental society and the daunting voices of enemies, Jobs stayed true to himself and never doubted his decision to take his own path in life. In fact, looking back at his failures, Jobs noted that such hardships directly led to his success at Apple, Inc.
Jobs also possessed another salient quality: the ability to value even the most unusual of circumstances. It takes a very daring and confident person to appreciate adverse situations that seem to have no short-term benefit. Instead of condemning the moments in his life where he suffered so greatly from lack of financial resources or emotional support, Jobs was always able to "connect the dots" in the future, as he mentions in his commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005.
From contracting an illness during a spiritual journey in India to getting fired from his own company in 1985, Jobs rarely lived a life of pure certitude. However, despite the turbulence that he experienced, Jobs never lost sight of his prevailing emotions. Jobs' unconventional path allowed him to develop unique and progressive beliefs and turn them into innovative ideas - the same ideas that were eventually implemented in his multibillion-dollar industry. Jobs is perhaps the greatest innovator of our time precisely because he relished hardship. He took risks and persevered. Most importantly, he took the path less traveled.
Jobs began a project in his garage and turned it into an empire. Through determination and a vigorous drive to excel with minimal resources, Jobs certainly put a "dent in the universe." We too should learn from the power of his fervent and unrelenting willpower that shined in the face of adversity.
Jobs returned to Apple just as the company was going bankrupt. He fused life into the failing company with the introduction of the iMac and more. Alas, if there were only a way that we could have come to his rescue during his last moments.
Rest in peace, Steve Jobs.
Akansha Mishra is a pre-law junior at UF. Her column appears on Fridays.
