And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.Īnd 17 years later I did go to college. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. The first story is about connecting the dots. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

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