Mark+M.

The first device that entered my home was a desktop computer, which my family shared until college. My life changed when I purchased an iPhone in late 2007. This was a significant upgrade from my basic cell phone, and represented the first time in which I had my own mobile device. It soon became a keeper of photos, messages, and contact information; I relied on it to replace functions of many things in my daily life, such as my calendar and reminders. These devices were largely intuitive to learn. The iPhone's user interface was simple to navigate. I particularly remember how these have helped me while traveling.

While I was living in Poland last year, technology flattened the way that I communicate to with my friends and family. I distinctly remember cooking my mother's popover recipe in Warsaw and contacting her via Facetime to ask her a few pointers. I moved to Poland without speaking much Polish; my ability to translate English to Polish via e-mail served as an essential tool for my research and my survival. I arrived in the country with a hindered means to communicate, but the Internet and my mobile device helped me find my way around and succeed in simple human interactions that we take for granted.