Ever since I was little, I have been interested in technology. I’ve always been interested in the innovations and complexities of modern technology. However, my most formative experience with technology came when I was about 15 years old, when I built my computer. My reason for building the computer was mainly so that I could have a computer of my own, not because the build interested me. I figured building the computer was a means to an end. Unsurprisingly, the old cliche, “It is not the destination that matters, but the journey,” held true.

Throughout the beginning of high school, I had always thought that I would be a computer science major, as I had been introduced to computer science in middle school, and it was the most interesting thing I had encountered at that point in my life. I geared my high school experience towards this, and so didn’t experience my true interest, engineering, until my senior year of high school. However, building my computer was a catalyst for me, as it opened my eyes to the fact that I could have other interests in the field of technology.

Initially, I wanted to build a computer for a variety of reasons. Foremost was that I would have a computer I could rely on for years, and that would be able to run the occasional video game my friends were playing at the time. All of my friends had built their own computers and highly recommended it to me, and so I decided to do it. I spent countless hours researching and asking friends about part recommendations, making sure I had a computer that would last and that I wouldn’t mess up during the build. I eventually settled on a list, and begged my parents to give me $1600 to build it, which they grudgingly did, seeing it as a college application project. I was happy to pretend it was.

When the parts finally arrived, I was so excited to start, that I immediately began building as soon as I had set the package down. I had done extensive research, so I knew what each of the parts did and where they went, which had fascinated me, but building it in person was an experience completely different from research. I learned more about computers that day than I did for the next year. Although, being my first time building, I did mess up a couple steps, and therefore my computer had a lot of issues, but I was satisfied with the end product.

I still remember the feeling I had when I powered it on for the first time. It was a feeling of astonishment. For some reason, during the entirety of the research and build processes I had this feeling that it wasn’t going to work. I didn’t dare believe that something so complex, that I had done, could ever actually work. So when it did, I was filled with a feeling of astonishment, joy, and pride at the feat I had accomplished.

The experience of building my computer surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the process of building my computer so much, and it led me to try out new classes in my junior and senior years, eventually leading me to my passion in engineering in my senior year of high school. Ever since, I have been waiting for the chance to build another. The only thing stopping me is that my computer is still going strong, and that I don’t have another $1600. I am absolutely sure, however, that I will end up building another computer.