SS 150 English Comprehension and
Composition
Assignment-1: Summary Writing
Hassan Rafiq
Roll No. 20I-0734
BS SE (R)
Submitted to: Miss Rafia Raza
Submitted on 22th October 2020
Steve Jobs, having dropped out and never graduated himself was the closest he had ever been
to a college graduation. His commencement speech at Stanford in 2005 consisted of sharing 3
main stories from his past life experiences, with all 3 having significant life lessons one can
learn deeply from.
Starting out, Jobs shares his ordeal of adoption. Being born to an unwed graduate student,
adoption seemed like the only choice for her. Although still wanting Jobs’ new parents to be
college graduates, things were looking bleak after a lawyer and his wife rejected him on the
basis of gender. Jobs’ biological mother reluctantly agreed to a second couple after being
promised that they would send him to college. Joining Reeds several years later.
Jobs, realizing from the lack of interest and watching his parents’ savings run down that college
was of little value to him, quickly deciding to drop out and start taking only those classes that
sparked his interests. Calligraphy class just so happened to be one of those. He learnt various
typefaces and developed an understanding for typography. Later implementing all these traits
into the first Macintosh. If it wasn’t for the seemingly insignificant calligraphy class at Reeds
our computers could have turned out very different. He concluded by emphasizing that
although the situation may look insignificant at present it does somehow connect in your future.
It all depends on your ability to trust yourself and take that initial leap of faith in the right
direction.
His second story was about love and loss. With his partner Woz, Jobs started Apple from within
his parent’s garage, quickly building an empire within 10 years. A catastrophe struck Jobs when
he was fired after having different views about the future of the company. His falling out from
Apple prompted him to start NeXT and Pixar, while also finding the love of his life and soon
to be wife, Laurene. And as if the stars aligned, Apple decided to acquire NeXT, reuniting Jobs
with his former child, plastering his belief that everything happens for a reason and that the
important thing is to never settle and always keep doing what you love.
His third and last story was about his face to face encounter with death itself. Jobs had already
been living with the view of life as if every day was his last. Remembering the fact that death
is inevitable helps keep him grounded towards reality. He was diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer which was perceived as incurable at first, with the doctors giving him a life expectancy
of three to six months. Miraculously the biopsy revealed it to be indeed curable through a
surgery which he underwent successfully. After such a close encounter Jobs emphasized on the
value of time. A precious and finite resource always dwindling away. He also highlighted the
point about living your own life and make it a habit to follow one’s intuition rather than seeking
acknowledgement from others. Jobs expressed his feelings on the publication ‘The Whole
Earth Catalog’, stating its timeless knowledge. He remembered the phrase written on the back
cover ‘Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish’, embracing it almost as a motto for himself and passing it
on to the graduates of the ceremony.
Steve Jobs, in his speech, spoke about the seemingly unrelated connections certain events could
possess that can have an impact on one’s future, irrespective of how insignificant they may
seem at present. He spoke about loss and how everything has its purpose in shaping a person
for the better, about how you should always strive and work towards everything you love and
hold close to your heart. He spoke about death and how time is a precious resource meant to
be used wisely. Jobs has shared his life experiences in such a manner where a great deal can be
learned from them.