Steve Jobs and Me

 I wouldn't know much more than what is on the news about Steve Jobs were it not for my oldest son. He's obsessed with all things technology.  I, myself am more of a minimalist.  Less is more for me.  But, because of my son, I have become interested in people like Steve Jobs and what got them where they are, etc.  I came across this address he gave at Standford and realized a few things that I can relate to about his life.  He talks about a few times in his life when he was in a sort of no-man's-land, and how that time when he wasn't climbing any ladders was actually the times when he was growing and progressing the most.  Learning the most important lessons and accomplishing great things, even though he wasn't really realizing it at the time. I've gone through times when I've regretted not being more serious about college from high school age and not knowing exactly what I wanted to do at the time, so that I could have blazed through and earned a degree. Instead I floundered a little bit and traveled a lot. I realize now though, that the time I spent working in Arizona after my freshman year was one of the most important learning experiences of my life. I fall back on things I learned and felt there to this day and I know I will continue to do that. The time I spent in Logan at Utah State could have looked like a disaster. I'm pretty sure that to my mom it was. I decided I wanted to go into dietetics and ended up not finishing. My grades dropped from As to Cs by the time I left. It was the first time I really lived away from home though, so it was there that I realized how strong my own wings are. I also learned that I really hate college. But the important things, like spirituality and friendship...  I figured out who I am.  I continue to recall the things I learned about myself during that "wilderness year" and those truths are my internal compass.

I think I'm still experiencing times of wilderness and I guess that's the point of life.  Going through the tough stuff, hanging on to faith and then coming out the other side knowing better who we are and feeling stronger, knowing that we're better for it.