optimizing for adventure

i've spent a lot of time "playing it safe."



growing up in an immigrant family still reeling from having escaped the height of the Vietnam War, we were just thankful to be here—in Canada, in the suburbs, safe and sound. it was always understood that you go to school, get a job, get married, buy a house in the suburbs, and live comfortably for the rest of your life. it was all my parents had ever wanted for us—to be safer than they had ever been.



for the longest time, this seemed perfectly fine to me. people who chased adventure were, somehow, other people. the safe path was all i'd ever known, and i didn't understand why anyone would want more than that.



i wish i could tell you the exact moment that this changed for me, but i think it happened gradually. moving to the city for work was still a very safe thing to do. but here, i immersed myself in this community of curious, thoughtful, inspirational humans who did things like build companies and explore the great unknown and truly believed, with every fiber of their existences, that technology could change the world for the better. i started traveling solo. i started to realize that these people who i admired so much from afar could be my kind of people.



i quit my first corporate (read: extremely safe) job the day before my promotion was going to be made official, without another job lined up. that would have been unthinkable to a past self. i'm going to be forever thankful to the mentor who talked me into it.



i'm also thankful to the technology community which welcomed me instantly, where i'm still finding my place (in Toronto, and worldwide).



most of all, i'm thankful for the sacrifices made before me by generations which have allowed me to feel safe enough to want to chase the great unknown.



these days, i'm making the conscious decision to pursue opportunities which allow the greatest amount of adventure in this life. i'm curious to see where this takes me.





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