1984. The ink on my Penn State Computer Science degree is still wet, and I am living in Phoenix once more. Dreams of being a computer programmer are still very real (they won’t be for long), and my life goals remain fluid. I am 28.

The Apple 1984 Super Bowl commercial caught many off guard, but for some of us, it felt like validation of what we had known and experienced for years. Change was needed. The old paradigms were no longer sufficient. However, this was just a commercial. Apple was becoming a capitalist juggernaut, and the change seemed to be superficial.

For the decades to follow, my career would be in information technology (IT) sales: from hardware, LANs, enterprise software, and finally Software as a Service (SaaS). Working every day with governments to help resolve complex issues with rental housing, wildfire risk reduction, or improving citizen engagement, you realize that the technology is just a tool, not the solution. The real work lies in human understanding, communication, motivation, and cooperation to bring about positive change.

The climate crisis will resolve itself, with or without human intervention. Without our intervention, present and future generations will suffer greatly. Humanity faces the real possibility of extinction along with many innocent species. I cannot, in good conscience, leave the children to the sledgehammer of fate.

2022. The quality of my life is no longer measured by money, things, or even acknowledgement. My experiences, my current knowledge (and what is to come), and my determination are needed by the many. I, along with so many others, must become the change we seek. I am 65.