The Passing of an iCon — A Young Immigrant Reflects on How Steve Jobs Opened a World That Once Seemed Out of Reach

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011 (Illustation by AD Avila, photo courtesy of Apple Computers.)

When I found out from my friend Tiburon that Steve Jobs died, I stopped typing on my iMac and froze for a few moments. Really it was shocking to hear “Jobs” and “dead” in the same sentence. Working in a commnuity center that only works on Macs, both old and new, I have come to be a Mac-head. I use to be a PC man, Sony Vaio’s to be exact, but the sleek clean design and performance of Apple computers stole my heart.

I am truly thankful for all that Jobs did for my generation. Steve Jobs was a genius and a visionary that called the Bay Area home, and being from the Bay myself there is a certain pride that comes along with that. No matter what corner of the world you travel to, Apple and Steve’s presence can be found. It is a presence that is sleek, stealth, and very powerful. When I was 12 years old I wished I could have a devices that could play my music, played games, and also showed me the schedule of the next bus I had to take and if it was going to be on time. Now with an iPhone or iPad you can do that and so much more.

And I’m not talking only in hypothetical for me, Steve Jobs products and brave innovations were the great equalizers that has allowed me, as an immigrant who came from humble roots to now be a graphic designer with my own graphic design company. Speaking as a graphic designer and a screen printer, I can honestly say that I would not be in this profession if it wasn’t for Apple computers and devices. I was given the opportunity to learn my crafts using Macs as a teen with out a direction in life. Now, I can make in living at what I love to do. As any artist or craftsman, the accessibility to needed tools is what really helped me. The tools I used to create were Apple products. There are young people all over the world, more now then ever, who are becoming professionals in fields that before we were excluded from, becuase of things people like Jobs made.

Just last week I visited Apple’s main campus in Cupertino, California, and I was in awe to be able to visit the place that has brought the world so many advances, from Macs to iPhones. It was like visiting a pyramid and Egypt, both mysterious and fascinating.

Without a doubt Steve Job’s passing will effect numerous people, but his life has affect so many of us (in ways they may never fully acknowledge) and will continue to as the company that he help create will continue to bring advancements to the way we live our lives now.

A genius has died, a genius that rose from the great Silicon Valley. Steve Jobs once had said while introducing to the iPod to the world was, “my job is to destroy this.” He meant “destroy” in context of creating a new and more innovative product, never settling with just a product that sells but creating a new product that can continuously change. To me, his ingenuity was never about products, it was about ideas and new ways the world could operate. It is something that we can see is happening in young genius today, on Wall Street, in Oakland, and in San Jose as they try to create a new world.

Thank you Steve.