Being Online Autobiography

I grew up using a computer of some sort. My earliest memory was playing games on an original Apple II that my elementary school had. I loved Number Crunch and Oregon Trail -- two games that are now considered classics by most people my age. Get a conversation going about Oregon Trail and you are sure to reminisce on how your wagon had to ford a stream or how your ox got dysentery and can not go on. Good times.

When I was younger I would go to my grandparent's house on the weekends. I remember being in 4th grade and using America Online dial up (that took nearly 10 minutes to connect) to play games on the internet and chat with family members from California. It was fascinating to me that I could sit in front of a machine and talk in real time to someone across the continent. I think this is what started my love for technology and gadgets in general.

I definitely consider myself a digital native, and am usually the person people come to when it comes to figuring out an issue with technology or devices. I owned my first computer when I was 17. I bought an Acer laptop from a friend, and loved it. It eventually fried itself to irreplaceable, and I then converted to my Apple iBook in 2005. After dropping that laptop on the floor and ruining the hard drive, I upgraded to a MacBook Pro which is what I use now. Whether it be for school, music, video production for the English department or Writing Center, or as an alarm clock, my MacBook Pro is a huge part of my daily routine.

Some of my bookmarked websites that I go to daily are: Facebook, MIX, Twitter, Yahoo! Tennis, Macrumors, and MuggleNet.com. I also write a personal blog that I have had since 2004, when I was a senior in high school. I updated it often and use it as an outlet to post thoughts, random blurts, anecdotes, and just about anything that I find interesting. My blog, Giovanni's Room, is connected through this account, but can be found here: http://thrash5.blogspot.com One of my best friends is a senior staff editor for MuggleNet.com, the leading Harry Potter fan site on the internet, and hosts the very popular podcast that goes with it.

My web experience changed dramatically a year ago when I purchased an iPhone. Until the iPhone, I always used my laptop to use the internet, check e-mail, and chat with friends. This all was now available in my pocket at any time thanks to this device. Being able to check my e-mail, get up to the date information, and connect with people in real time was very exciting and just the type of technology that I crave. A year later, and I still can say that I am grateful for every dollar that I spent on it. It's truly a great investment.

Needless to say, this class is the type of class that showcases my interests. I anticipate doing well and learning a lot about what I already love.