I grew up in the 80’s (yes the 1900’s), a Gen X’er who drank from the firehose and was a latch key pirate. I have lived in a world without internet, a world where the internet was dial up 1800 baud modems, a world that saw the creation of the first browser, the first cell phone, the first.. the first.. the first..
I bought my first computer in 1994. It had a 8MB of ram and an 80MB hard drive. For a today conversion, that is 16 HEIC photos on your iphone. I had an 1800 baud modem that made the most beautiful screeching sound that connected me to AOL Online and my local BBS. Less than 20% of the world had a personal computer, compared to the 96% in 2024.
That computer was the opening of a world that I didn’t even know existed. I struggled in school. I continually flunked my math classes and now know it was due to Dyscalculia, which is much like dyslexia, whereas dyscalculia affects brain areas that handle math- and number-related skills and understanding. We didn’t have computers in school, so this giant box was my first introduction to the glorious things it could do; which at that time was Mine Sweeper, Solutaire and a Microsoft Word.
One small act; purchasing a computer, changed the entire trajectory of my life. I taught myself HTML, learned mySQL, started designing web pages, started my own online business that ran for 12 years, started teaching people how to use WordPress, started speaking at WordCamps and now.. I work for WordPress 🙂 One computer, a million years ago. One choice. Once change. Big results!