Laptop, Topdawg!

For the ordinary student, well, it's just a common thing. Everyone has one - I see them in class, in libraries, on the streets. They are (here is my word of the week) ubiquitous! But for me - the experience was more than ordinary. It was extraordinary! Don't get me wrong - I've had one before. I'm used to it, I already got over the wonder. But then I lost it - or rather, it chose to no longer be a part of my life. I convinced myself that I didn't need one. Perhaps, I was even better off without one. I was less distracted, more focused. Sure it would have been more convenient, but hey, I'm tough! I don't need one to enjoy my life as a student. Then just last weekend, my dad surprised me. He brought me a present. I remember the first time I took it out of the box. It was beautiful. Silver, and sleek, with smooth edges and beautiful contours. It was bright, and intelligent, and showed great promise. It was then I knew - that very moment when I saw it for the first time that I realized, I couldn't do without it. I love my laptop. For some of you, those four words may be an anti-climax. "Geez, a laptop!" you might think to yourself in digust. "She feels that way about a laptop?!!". Both as someone who has owned a laptop for four years, it is, easily, the singularly most important device to keep me connected to the world. A laptop is more than just machinery for me - its the door to Narnia, the key to a person's heart, the window to a whole new world. It makes me feel alive, excited, connected. "Alright, get to the point, kid!" you think to yourself, lighting a cigar so an aura of the 1950s engulfs you. "Who cares if you love your laptop"? Well...step out of the 1950s ladies and gents, and come into the future. As a student, I need my laptop, and guess what? You might benefit from one too! You see, in this day and age, computers and technology are developing. Professors are adapting to technology by making PowerPoints, enhancing lectures with videos etc. and are using lecture notes more and more as a teaching methods. Gone are the rare cave man days where four blackboards are filled with information for students to copy and onto the new technology where there are bulleted points, and the professor sits contently on the desk at the front of the class, spending two hours on three bulleted words. One thing I've noticed at U of T is that the professors talk a lot. And while I mean this in the nicest possible way (we all know there is no nice way to put it), laptops provide a one-up for students. Typing is much faster than writing - you pick up more of the prof's lecture, which is handy because lectures are becoming increasingly important for exams and tests. We all know the downsides with owning a laptop; the consistent, incessant need to check Facebook, MSN, email, games and very many other delectable Internet pastimes that should really be kept in the privacy of your home rather than the classroom. But I assure you, it can be managed. And the pros are phenonmenal - portability, flexibility, and ability (to succeed) ... (sorry ability rhymed with portability and flexibility, but it didnt really work well on its own). You can find great discounts during the back-to-school sales in September, or during the major sales that occur arround the holidays. Our very own U of T Bookstore at Koffler has a computer store upstairs that might get your mind onto popular laptops. Consider size of the screen, software available, spare parts, age of the company of the laptop, and how you plan to use it. Don't be afraid to research... And for those times I thoughtt, "oh, I'm just fine without one"... well, let's just say, you don't know what you're missing till you try it. 🙂   Fariya