Growing up, I never had a phone or a laptop of my own. I always used either mama’s or papa’s phone for personal calls and messages. But, on the other hand, my brother, who was younger than me, got his first phone — well, it was my father’s used phone, and he got it after a lot of whining.

While I am not someone who is much into phones or gadgets, I wouldn’t have minded getting one, or any other device would work for me. I then asked my father for a laptop instead and he said that he would get me one someday. After that day, I waited and waited and eventually forgot about it.

But one fine day, during my summer vacation, when my father called and surprised me by saying that he was bringing my very own laptop. I was surprised, but very pleased and couldn’t wait.

I waited for him impatiently. Every minute passed like an hour. I felt so happy and excited that I couldn’t control myself. In a couple of hours, dad arrived and handed me a box — the laptop box!

I wanted to shout, I wanted to cry! I don’t know what I was feeling at that moment, but it was an experience I would call out of this world! After controlling my nerves, I did the very first unboxing of my very first laptop.

It was black, just as I wanted. It also had a laptop bag. I turned it on, like a child who just got a new toy. I became a little possessive towards my laptop and wouldn’t let anyone use my laptop because I thought that I would use it more carefully. Soon I realised that it was wrong of me and I should share it with others as well. So that’s what I did, I shared my laptop with everyone, but with the instructions of being extremely careful while using it.

Then my father helped me to explore my laptop more and taught me many things that I didn’t know. He also downloaded a few apps and setup my laptop properly. My brothers, who knew more about techy devices than me, downloaded every other game they could see. And I enjoyed spending the whole day with my loved ones using my very first laptop.

Now when I look back at these memories, I see smile thinking of how I loved watching the spark in my brothers’ eyes and how my father remembered my wish and made it come true, and how my mother was happy seeing me happy. I now realise how precious those memories are to me and how much I’m going to cherish them all my life.

The experience taught me to share my possessions, while also being careful about them. I learned to value my belongings and cherish my time with loved ones, and I learned to be patient. So, these are some of the things this experience taught me that I’ll remember for life.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 6th, 2024