Technology Narrative
Welcome
was the first word that I ironically wrote.
Found on a picture of a “welcome” mat in a juvenile science experiment
book, with the use of a pencil and virtually any paper surface I could find, I
scribbled the seven letter word. Without
total knowledge of what I was writing or the proper method to forming the
letters, “welcome” can be found on nearly every blank binder of the books I
have owned since I was about four. With
the ambition I gained from this one word, I began to use my older brother’s
typewriter to type complete nonsense, pretending I was some grand author. It was not until first grade that someone
finally showed me how to correctly form letters and words on triple lined
paper. Equipped with a dotted second
line, I was able to calculate just the right height for letters such as “m,” to
avoid any disfiguration in my writing.
Sadly
now, nobody really cares if my letters are proportional to my paper lines. Every “written” assignment is submitted electronically
without lead smudges and eraser wounds.
Though the rest of the world may have moved on, I find myself at very
rare occasions writing at the computer.
I use programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel only to write papers and
construct charts for class. If I do not
have an assignment my laptop stays tucked away under my bed in its carrying
case. Most often I opt to use simple
pencil and paper with any other writing that I come across.
In the
instances that I must type a paper for school it is not until the final step of
my writing process that I turn towards the computer. The main writing assignments I have consist
of research papers. Using index cards I
jot down quotes and quick notes. With
these labeled according to category I outline my paper on a single sheet of
notebook paper, using the numbering system on my index cards to place them
appropriately in the paper. From the
outline I write the paper by hand. Lastly,
I type up every paper in Microsoft Word and make revisions before finally
printing.
After
some thought and consideration I chose to study accounting. Initially, I thought that I had found a
career that would not require me to be an expert on writing papers. I assumed that the only computer work I would
need to do would involve basic calculations and the write up of financial
statements. It was not until
intermediate accounting did it become apparent that the use of the computer
would be most important in developing not only numerical based financial
statements, but also technical report papers.
Summaries, explanations, and proposals are all part of daily routine as
an accountant. Even though my style of
writing may not always include the use of an electronic aid, I have chosen a
career where the skills to type and operate a computer are imperative.
As much
as I would like to think that society is going to convert back to the single
use of pencil and paper, it is impossible.
With the introduction of iPads and other writing tablets, notebooks are
slowly becoming a thing of the past. I
will admit on a positive note that some trees have been saved, but sometimes it
is nice to not have the worry of “error” popping up in the middle of scribbling
away in a notebook.
