1. I grew up playing with computer parts.
Many days I spun around in the swivel chair in my dad’s office until I made myself dizzy, and pretended the motherboards strewn everywhere were tiny cities. When I got older, I used those parts to help my dad build computers.
2. Much of my childhood consisted of me sitting on my dad's lap as he found free coloring pages and online games for me.
He taught me how to make a website and download games on it purely for my own enjoyment.
3. I know better than to forget a password.
And there is definitely no “I accidentally deleted everything. Can you recover it?” in our house. Everything on my laptop is appropriately labeled, organized, and easy to find.
4. My go-to joke when I was little was calling his computer his second wife because he spent so much time on it.
And frankly, I still find it funny.
5. "Hey, let me show you how to do this" is a pretty common occurrence
And has interrupted many Disney movies and Netflix binges.
6. I have tried turning it on and off again.
I’ve also tried to basic steps that come after that to fix whatever the issue is. Thanks to my dad, tech support at my future job probably won’t be very acquainted with me.
7. I learned that the solution to nearly all of life's problems is to reset the router.
Which six-year-old me became a pro at doing.
8. Half of my dad's phone calls are family members requesting his technological help.
And often, I'm one of them.
9. My dad taught me persistence.
He doesn’t know how to fix every computer problem, but he doesn’t give up until he figures out how to, whether through research or experimenting or a combination of the two. Though I can always depend on him, I also know I have the ability to figure out things on my own too.
10. I know the value of being patient with others when they can't grasp an idea of a concept.
Weekend work phone calls about trivial issues with simple solutions never once annoyed my father, and I respect him endlessly for that.
