My grandmother gifted me a Kodak No. 2 Brownie and several rolls of 120 B&W film on my fifth birthday on Nov 4, 1973. I shot most of the film that same day and I caught hell for it, too. I turned 55 this past Saturday, marking exactly half a century of photography. I love it just as much now as the first time I held that old Brownie and I have no intention of slowing down.
All of the tools I have used over the years have changed. Wildly so. The device I have in my pocket now surpasses the "visual scanners" I saw on Star Trek as a kid. One of my cameras? I can remotely fly it several klicks away to get a picture! What hasn't changed is the thrill of chasing a good shot, and I don't think it ever will.
I am very grateful not only for that first camera (which was also Gran's first camera) but for the love of the craft that she gifted me with as well.