As a mines student, your calculator becomes one of your best friends over the years. Long nights of calculations, countless tests together…those white buttons and small colorless screens have been with you through the good times and the bad. Truth be told, familiarity has bonded you together in a relationship that can be taken for granted. The reliability and effectiveness of a calculator can be overlooked. That is, until tragedy strikes.
I was unlucky enough to lose my calculator last week, and needless to say, I was distraught. I had to revert back to TI-30X, and as we all know from Physics Exams, that calculator is less than ideal. The display is limited, value retrieval is clunky, and the buttons are soft and lifeless. I’ll admit it: I had been spoiled by my TI-nspire, and now that it was gone, my entire world had been flipped upside-down. I was lost, and I felt cold and lonely.
The search began as I retraced my steps that week. When did I last have it? During the Econ Exam on Wednesday? Definitely. What about during Soil Mechanics Lab on Thursday? I’m pretty sure I did. I couldn’t have calculated the coefficient of consolidation without it. Did I have it whilst working on a project that night in the Berthoud computer lab? That’s where things got hazy. All I know is that a problem was left unsolved that Friday morning in class as I reached my backpack’s calculator pouch and met empty despair. I tried not to panic. I checked my car, apartment, and classes multiple times to no avail. In a desperate attempt, I left a “have you seen me?” note on the blackboard in the Berthoud computer lab, along with an artist’s rendition of the TI-nspire. I figured it had no way of working, yet I continued my search and held on to hope.
Time went on, and I began to cope in the world without my calculator. My productivity of doing homework decreased, and I considered moving on to another calculator. Yet I needed some time because what we had was special.
I later returned to the Berthoud computer lab to check on my note. I would not have believed what I saw if it hadn’t been with mine own eyes. There it was, my TI-nspire resting against the board. I had left the note nearly five days ago. In that time, a selfless individual had returned it, and everyone else who had walked by did not take it. That is truly impressive. This calculator is not cheap, yet my peers had chosen to honor the unwritten sanctity of calculator law.
To whoever returned this calculator; I want to thank you. You may not read this, but know that the reunion between man and calculator legitimately made my day. Not only was I more capable to do my homework, I was instilled with pride to go to a school where honesty and integrity can prevail. Although classes and tests can get you down, remember that you are fortunate to go to a school comprised of some pretty exceptional and kind people.
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