I wonder if I’d be the computer nerd I am today without the company Steve Jobs founded. As I entered second grade, I wanted nothing more than to draw goofy cartoons on scraps of paper. But soon I was perched in front of a beige Apple IIe, plotting a crude image of Sam the Dog using the kid-friendly programming language Logo.

26 years later, I kicked back on my couch with my Apple iPad and created yet another digital portrait of Sam.

Today we take it for granted that computer companies often market to kids and creative types, but back in 1985 Apple’s approach was very unique, and came around at just the right time to profoundly influence me and millions of other `80s kids who now, for better or worse, consider computers to be extensions of our brains.