I got my computer when I graduated high school. My father got me a Pentium 4 black computer. The internet was still dependant on dial-up then in India. I was also given a printing machine.
It was a great asset to me during my college days. I was finally the part of the majority that had begun turning in assignments made on their computers. Because I was the oldest of my siblings I was given the responsibility to monitor them. I was often bribed by my siblings as a result.
My computer holds sentimental value to me because it was with me during my teen years. I wrote my poetry on it, drew my artworks on paint, played a lot of video games. I even saw all the movies on DVD. Those were the best times because it was much simpler then. I don’t object to the fast-paced life now but when you have spent a portion of your life accustomed to patience at the internet’s snail pace you feel a sense of nostalgia for the good old days. Back then, owning a computer meant every acquaintance who didn’t own one would turn to you in desperation. The children would revere you because you were the gateway to the video games portal. Everyone wanted to a sleepover and use the computer. This led to many fun times.
Because the world wide web wasn’t that addictive then, CDs and hard disks were the main sources of entertainment. The latest songs were burned on CDs and played on loud volume to signal that yes, I was a proud owner of a computer. My siblings and friends were constantly crowded in what we had come to label as the computer study room. Owning a computer doesn’t seem to boast much of a status as now you expect people to flash expensive phones. But in the 90s it was nothing short of being considered elite.
When we weren’t using the computer, we would teach our parents to make the most of it. They became computer savvy in under a year. This helped in maintaining contact with them later, on laptops and tablets. Owning a computer has been a charming experience for me.