An Unexpected Path: Steve Jobs made me cry

Daria Mochan Special Needs

When I first heard the news that Steve Jobs had died, my first reaction was one of sadness you might feel with a complete stranger’s passing.  However, the next morning it hit me like a ton of bricks.   I found myself crushed by the weight and just heartbroken, even moved to tears, simply listening to news coverage on National Public Radio.  This isn’t typical me, and so after some reflection of the profound impact his contributions have been to my life, I realized his inventions and attitude has given me so much more than just gadgets and better computers.  He has given hope and inspiration to not only me personally, but also to a community I care deeply about.

An Unexpected Path: Labels are for Cans

Daria Mochan Special Needs

Before kids, I spent much of my life labeling things.  As a biologist I was trained in the science of naming (taxonomy) and spent countless hours looking through a microscope at all kinds of invertebrates.  Each animal was labeled with a name and classified into groups.  When something is labeled, we know how it relates to the rest of the world, we know how it will behave, we know what to expect.  At least we think we do.