Calculators

MLK day was a carefree, fun-filled day for many people at BYU. Some of my friends ventured to their Utah homes, some hit the ski slopes, and some others bedazzled themselves and went to prime parties. But not me.

I, who had just added a new section of Calculus to my schedule, had some make-up work to do. LOTS of it. Being a grade-conscious student, I sat myself down and did Calculus homework during my day off of school.

I wandered over to the library, backpack in tow, with everything I thought I would need. Textbook? Check. Scratch Paper? Check. Laptop? Check. TI-89 Calculator? CHECK.

I rode the elevator up to the fourth floor, found a table, and spread my array of calculus essentials on the wooden tabletop. All settled, I began working. Everything was going well until I reached for my calculator and pushed the "on" button.

Lo and behold, my calculator had run out of batteries. Disastrous? Yes. Thank goodness my laptop had a calculator built right in.

They're on computers, they're on cellphones, they're even on i-pods. Calculators are devices that help us through life nowadays. From simple add-and-subtract, to natural logarithms and limits, they make calculations (and calculus) easier. Imagine if we didn't have calculators to help us with sums. There would be a lot more time--and pencil--that would go to waste.

I'm thankful for calculators. (And for an amazing friend who photocopied the calculus homework schedule for me this evening. You know who you are. :) )

How am I so blessed?