Everything Happens for a Reason

So, I've known for a while now that my computer is very old. In fact, several months ago my financial intentions were to acquire a new computer when the new mac operating system had been released. Okay, so maybe it was more than several months ago as my money has since been spent on something very different... When the current "big choice" of my life came around and I did a (I regret to say) very rough opportunity cost analysis, the cost of not being able to buy a new computer was factored and I decided I was okay with putting it off until I had more money.

However, I am now being forced to re-evaluate that conclusion. Over several days last week, I had been noticing a surplus in damaged files on my computer, culminating in a disappearance of complete folders entirely, to where I was forced to admit that the amount of missing data was increasing. Something had infected my computer and was eating my data. For a while, my outlook had been that since most of the missing data had been downloaded from the internet in the first place, the only thing I was really losing was the hard earned time it had taken to actually find and download that material as I could go and redownload it... However, I eventually discovered that this predicament was just a bit more serious than I could easily shrug off. In very big and round letters, I was forced to utter a pronounced, "Explicative." In addition to the loss of several applications, all of my research on the AOL campaign (six months of intensive work) was lost...

So my inability to update my virus protection as my computer is so old (also one of the applications that has disappeared) and lack of hard drive back ups as my computer no longer has the ability to burn discs, have recently given me a new depth perception. Hmm... No, I still would have spent my money in that fashion for the most part, but my education is turning out to be a little more expensive than previously thought. More than just financial, my free time is now also required to make up for the missing pieces.

Actually, this probably doesn't come down to the age of my computer so much as it is a reflection of my intelligence. I chose not to buy a computer that would protect me from this sort of thing, but that doesn't mean there were not other preventative steps I could have taken... If only I could be just a little bit smarter or a little bit more willing to put in the effort needed.

From a different perspective, perhaps I was meant to develop more awareness of my situation. The event occurs now, when the most important data I could lose was only academic in nature rather than grounds for employment termination. I have gained a real appreciation of backing up my data rather than just an academic one. In trying to make up for the data loss, I have become reacquainted with the Windows operating system, a useful skill for the job market, as well as the campus library resource of laptop rentals. Online music streaming and online data storage, free and accessible on any computer, are now viewed as more valuable.

All things considered, I'm actually taking the situation pretty well. Everything happens for a reason, right?