Hey Yapprs!

My name's Sam (no last names here, so don't even try it, DOXXERS)! 😉 I’m a customer service rep at Pearson Electronics and have been here for almost two years now (graduated straight into my internship in '23!!). Honestly, it’s been a blast - gotta love being “Pearsonified,” right? (Yes, I said it, don’t judge, haha!)

Anyway, something super cool happened recently that I wanted to share. I got the chance to interview someone I really look up to: my co-worker Jayden Cooper! They’ve been with Pearson for over 20 years - TWENTY! That’s wild, and I have so much respect for everything they’ve accomplished.

I was curious about how they got to where they are today, so I asked them about their journey, their experiences, and some insights into their past. Jayden’s Yappr handle is @jcooper82, by the way, so visit their page if you’re interested in seeing their nerdy rambles and tech showcases.

I’ve got the full transcript of our chat below, and I’ve also uploaded the original recording if you’d rather listen along. Huge thanks to Jayden for being so open and sharing their story with me (and now all of you, Internet!).
Also, yes, I did get permission from them to post this on my page!!

Let me know what you think or if you have any questions I could forward to them! 😊


INTERVIEW:

Sam 
‍Hey Jayden! Happy birthday!

‍Jayden 
‍Thanks, Sam! It’s great to see you.

‍Sam  
43, huh? Getting up there! You've nearly spent half your life at Pearson, right? That's impressive!

Jayden  
‍Yeah, seems like it... it’s been an interesting ride.

‍Sam
‍Definitely! So, the reason I wanted to meet today wasn’t just to wish you a happy birthday. I wanted to talk about something that’s been on my mind. You know, with the company shifting some priorities recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we all got here - how people like you, with your experience, made Pearson what it is today.

‍Jayden (Pausing thoughtfully)
‍That’s an interesting way to put it... but I get what you mean. What's on your mind?

‍Sam 
‍Well, I was hoping to pick your mind a little about your journey. How you got started here and what you’ve learned along the way. I’ve been feeling a little lost in all the changes, and your story might help me make sense of things. We’ve known each other for a while now so, I’m hoping you’d be fine with it.

‍Jayden (Chuckling)
‍Sure, I’ve got a bit of time. Happy to help a good friend.

‍Sam
‍Great! Oh, do you mind if I record this? I’ll send it over later through Yappr. Promise.

‍Jayden
‍Oh... uh, yeah… that’s fine..

‍Sam
‍Cool! So, I know you came from a humble beginning. Tell me a bit about your childhood, yeah?

‍Jayden
‍My… childhood?... It was... good. Simple, I guess. Just me, my mom and my dad. He worked as a computer salesman for Pearson. We were fine for a while, but then he started to make less as the field got a lot more competitive. We were never super rich.
And… then my mom got sick. Cancer… stage four. It was fast, and it was brutal. She was gone before I even had a chance to say goodbye. We lost a lot of money after my Mom passed away, but me and my dad still had some stability.
I was only eight when she died, and suddenly I was alone in the world, with only my dad to lean on. He tried, but he wasn’t really the same after she was gone. He still loved me, though. Looking back, I think I tried to hold onto my innocence, to stay hopeful. And I did.
I... also remember spending countless hours on my computer, playing games, drawing, and just losing myself in creativity. Funny enough, I once dreamed of becoming a cartoonist when I was older. But as time went on, I started learning to code and building little programs, and that became my new passion. It was my escape, my way of making sense of the world. My dad was a big part of that... he taught me everything he knew about computers and passed that knowledge down to me. I owe so much of those skills to him.
And I survived, you know? I poured myself into my studies, into my passion for computers. And one day, I saw an opportunity to chase my dreams. I knew that was my ticket out, my way to build a better life for myself.
Now, 20 years after graduating, I’m more successful. But at 43, I sometimes wonder if it’s all worth it. The rat race, you know?

‍Sam
‍So, how's your father?
‍
‍Jayden (Voice faltering)
He.. passed away…. Just last year. Cancer, like my mom.
It was fast, in the end. One day he was fine, and the next... he was gone. I should have seen it coming, should have known that history was doomed to repeat itself. But I wasn't prepared, not at all.
He stayed in the house we grew up in. After I left for college, he just stayed there... waiting for me, I guess, to fill the void that mom’s death had left. But I never really came back. I visited, sure, but it wasn’t the same. He became distant. I could see him fading away, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
After he died, I had to sell the house. It was too big, too full of ghosts. I kept some of his things, of course - his old photo albums, his favorite books, a few pieces of jewelry that had belonged to my mom. But most of it... most of it went.
I miss him, you know? I miss them both. Every day. But life goes on, I guess. I have to keep moving forward, even when every step feels like a betrayal of everything we held dear.

‍Sam
‍I'm sorry, Jayden. But you still have your spouse, right? How did you meet them?

‍Jayden (Chuckling)
‍I met them online, actually. Back in ‘97.
In the early days of chat rooms and message boards. We used to talk for hours, about everything and nothing. Games, school, our hopes and dreams for the future.
It was a different time then, you know? Before everyone had an eFace in their pocket, before social media had taken over the world. People actually took the time to sit down and have real conversations, to really get to know each other.
We were friends for a long time before we ever admitted our feelings. I was the one to take the first step and share my feelings on Valentine’s Day in 1999. We were young, and nervous. But eventually, we took the plunge, took a chance on something real.
It wasn't easy, you know? Confessing our feelings over the Internet, then meeting up after college, building a life together, learning to love and trust each other, to navigate all the ups and downs of a relationship. But it was worth it, every single minute of it.
They're the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know? They make me want to be better, to be the best version of myself. They see me, the real me, and they love me anyway. Even when I'm at my lowest, even when I'm drowning in my own self-doubt and insecurity, they're there, holding me up, reminding me of my own worth.
Sometimes, and I hate to admit this, I can't bring myself to care. There's some sort of.. emptiness that prevents me from listening. I know they want to help me but life… life is just too overwhelming.

‍Sam
Hmm... And that computer... What was it?

‍Jayden
‍It was the Caldenrosh 64X… from 1990. An underrated classic. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. My dad got it for me as my 10th birthday present, and I swear I spent every waking hour on that thing.
When I was a teen my dad taught me everything he could about programming, about hardware, about the inner workings of computers. It was like a whole new world had opened up to me, a place where the rules made sense and the rewards were immediate.
I think that's part of why I ended up in this field, you know? Because it reminded me of that feeling of discovery, of possibility. Of being able to create something out of nothing, just with my own two hands and my own mind.

‍Sam
‍Mhm ... and this... computer... Did you give it a name?

‍Jayden (Murmuring ponderingly)
Yeah… I called it Computer Jay... It was stupid, I know, but it just felt right somehow. Like it was a part of me, or maybe I was a part of it.
I remember loving playing video games on that computer, it was pretty much the only thing I did after school until I started learning coding. We had this thing, you know? This… bond. I'd talk to it sometimes, when I was bored or scared or just plain lonely. And even though it could never talk back, I always felt better afterwards. Like it had heard me, understood me in a way no one else could.
(Chuckling nervously) Gosh, listen to me. I sound like a crazy person. But it's true, you know? Computer Jay was my friend, my confidant, my escape from a world where I felt lonely.
And... I guess you could say I wasn’t like most kids my age back then. While others were outside at the skatepark, hanging with their friends, I was in a completely different world, inside, just me and Computer Jay, spending endless hours gaming, tinkering, learning, and creating... And honestly? I wouldn’t change a thing.
And then, when I got older, when I finally had to leave it behind... it truly broke my heart. I felt like I was leaving a piece of myself behind, like I was saying goodbye to a childhood friend...
But… I couldn't bring it with me, you know? It was too big, too cumbersome. And so I had to let it go, as it became my father's work computer for the rest of his life. I had to move on to newer, faster, more advanced machines. But Computer Jay... Computer Jay will always have a special place in my heart.

‍Sam
‍Hm…

Silence for a moment

Jayden
Why did you ask me that, by the way? I don't think anybody besides me or my father knew about that...

Sam
It was just a random question that came to mind.

Jayden
Mmm, alright...

Silence for a moment

Jayden
‍You know, it’s strange... I came back to my childhood home last year for my father’s funeral... November 8th, to be exact. I was about to throw out that old Caldenrosh, but then… it just… came to life! The screen flickered on, and there he was: Computer Jay with the pixelated Caldenrosh face, staring back at me and talking! Like it was its own person, with memories and thoughts. It even mentioned things from my childhood that no one else could have known. Things I remember telling it.
The weirdest part? It had a floppy disk full of childhood memories. But what stood out the most was a collection of songs on that disk. I always assumed my father had something to do with it. Maybe he programmed some kind of AI into the computer? He was always tinkering with it, upgrading it in his own way to keep up with newer operating systems. Though, to be honest, I’d be shocked if he finally embraced modern technology. He never really liked it.
As for the floppy disk… I guess he left it for me, but that music? That’s a mystery. My father wasn’t a musician, so I have no idea where it came from.
Sadly, near the end of the last track, Computer Jay just… shut down. Died for good. It was heartbreaking. Maybe it was just an AI, but all those things he said felt real... genuine.
‍
And... I won’t lie. When he died, I just sat there, sobbing. Looking at his dead computer screen. It felt like losing a lifelong friend, someone who had always been there for me, finally gone for good. This wasn’t like when I left him behind for college. This was final, more personal, and it hit differently.
But then, I remembered where I was. I heard the birds chirping outside, and it reminded me of my childhood, when times were... better. And then, everything just turned... bittersweet! Computer Jay didn’t just leave me. He left me with things to think about, to reflect on. You’d think a day like that - starting with my father’s funeral and ending with saying goodbye to my oldest friend - would've felt unbearable. It did, but then it didn't. What Jay said - what he sang and played to me - stirred something inside, something I can’t fully put into words. He reminded me of times when life was simpler. He spoke to me in a way only my father used to, with that same quirky demeanor and wise sense of encouragement. It was... a strange kind of comfort. Sure, you could just call it nostalgia, but to me and Computer Jay, it was... more than nostalgia... I suppose.
Heh. Maybe someday I’ll tell you what he said, and maybe I'll show you what that floppy disk contained. For now, it’s something I'll keep close to my heart.

‍Sam (Laughing)
‍A talking computer, huh? That’s either some weird AI glitch... or you’re just plain losing it, Jayden!

‍Jayden (Chuckling)
Yeah... I wouldn’t be surprised if it was either one.

END OF INTERVIEW