In his commencement speech to the 2005 graduating class at Stanford University, Steve Jobs told his audience to follow their own paths in life and not what others thought best for them. “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice,” Jobs said. “And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

This was the essence of the man. All his life, Jobs had asked people to “think different,” to have the courage to break new ground and seek new frontiers...to boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before. He expected no less from himself, and, like others before him, set out to prove that with vision and the perseverance to see it through, you could change the world.

When I was around seven years old, my father brought home an Apple LC II. The rest, as they say, is history. I grew up with the Macintosh as part of my household. My father, being an independent-thinker himself, was naturally attracted to the inventions of another independent-thinker like Jobs.

Each time my father brought home the newest model, it was Christmas all over again. He was captivated by the machines, and, using the Mac, soon taught himself how to design a webpage for his business and manipulate graphics in Adobe Photoshop. Not long thereafter I, too, took up the mouse and began my own journey into the new digital frontier.

Today, I am a professional web developer and Mac user. I owe it all to two men: my dad and Steve Jobs.

We will miss you Steve.