At the end of my junior year of college, I left San Diego for Waterloo, Canada, to intern at Google. Iâd then go on to:
- Intern in San Francisco
- Study abroad in Rome
- Return to school in San Diegoâand graduate
- Intern in San Francisco, again
- Return home to San Jose
Leaving for Canada felt like going up the Drop Tower at Great America. I felt a pit in my stomach and a whole lot of anxiety.

The trip itself was like the drop. I was first terrified, and also giddy, but after getting used to the sensation, I just about enjoyed myself.
I feel so lucky to have gotten to finish college growing up against this changing backdrop. Through these experiences and some thinking, I have some beliefs that make up the core of my being. Hereâs one.
#The world is huge, and made of infinitely many bubbles.
Most Americans wonât ever go to Waterloo. Theyâll never go clubbing at Philâs or get shawarma at Mozyâs. Or buy Campus Pizza at 3am. Itâs not some big city, like LA, NYC, or Toronto.

People arenât going to Waterloo to âsee the worldâ.
But hereâs the thingâŚ
Waterloo is the world. As in, the world is mostly made of Waterloos. The world is mostly made up of places youâve never heard of.
Places youâve never heard of, with people youâll never know. People with jobs and local haunts just like yours, going about their business.
This still blows my mind. My mind canât process the sheer volume of the world, with all its nooks and crannies. Itâs too much.
Not only is the world enormous, but itâs made up of infinitely many bubbles.

Now, what do you think when you hear the word, bubble?
I think of my high school, and my university in SD. I think of the SF tech bubble, which Iâm entering.
Bubble has a negative connotation. Bubble suggests a limited worldview. Bubble popping? Suggests getting out there and seeing the world.
But is it not the case, that you just exchange one bubble for another?
I loved my time studying abroad. When my mind chances on the little things that made up Rome⌠oh good gosh, take me back.
My charming professors and their classes. Piazza Navona, Testaccio Market, and omg, The School of Athens. The crowded tram ride to school, with all my beautiful friends packed like sardines. Our weekend trips to other gorgeous cities in Europe.
And one final Sunday, spent walking through the lush neighborhood of GarbatellaâŚ

I heard over and over from friends studying abroad that their programs were escapes from their respective bubbles, and also, enriched their lives.
My time in Rome enriched my life, 100%.
But I wonât kid myself. On our enormous planet, I met a small set of people and went to a small set of places.
I just swapped one bubble: one small world, one limited experience, one sliver of the human conditionâfor another.
Escaping to another bubble, escaping to another community, wonât solve your problems. You might find as I did, moving to a new place just lands you different worries.
But as I moved between bubbles, realizing each has its ups and downs, I developed a deep conviction. That I am insignificant and fleeting. That my sorrows are insignificant and fleeting.
That in this infinite world of infinite bubbles, we are but specks of soap. At best, we can sparkle in the light.