What’s Next?

A Memory

“Stand up if you’re living the dream.”

The speaker’s voice echoes through the auditorium to the new students.
I stand up, smiling. My internal monologue acknowledges that this wasn’t the exact plan, but it’s my plan now and I get to own that.

Ferst Center at Georgia Tech is where my journey over the last 4 years began. Maybe not physically or administratively, but mentally.
At that moment, I separated myself from the past. I knew what needed to change personally and I was ready to do that.

I ended high school with a list of things I wanted to change. I found myself at the intersection of multiple friend groups, but not particularly close with many people. I also realized that I was living to work on meaningless assignments that took up my time but didn’t stoke my desire to learn or to live.

Georgia Tech was not on my list of schools until 5 days before the application deadline, when a friend asked, “are you applying to Georgia Tech?” And I thought, “yeah, why not!”

A Reflection

In May, I had the honor of graduating from Georgia Tech. Words can only begin to describe how grateful I am for the family, friends, teammates, and mentors that have supported my growth over the past four years. Even more so, I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to watch those around me grow and move towards their goals, both personally and professionally.

It’s been incredible to work on so many projects during my time at Georgia Tech, from researching how we can engineer the body’s immune system to treat cancer, to improving stroke treatment at Motus Nova, to collaborating with the Mayo Clinic on a noninvasive intracranial pressure monitor, to name a few. I’ve learned a ton, including sales at a recruiting SaaS startup.

It’s also been amazing to live in Atlanta for four years. I’ve loved the city (despite the humidity) and I’m so happy to see it continue growing.

A Lesson

I truly believe that a few core principles have helped me to reach the place I am.

• Seize the path and make it your own.
• Talk to people and lead with value. Help others and show you care in every interaction. The people you meet and interact with are the ones that will help support you and create the future.
• Please take care of yourself first and then really think about what you’re optimizing for. Your GPA (insert any other metric here) doesn’t matter if you don’t make it through.

A Mission

As I reflect on my life so far and where I want to go, I’ve put words to what’s been on my mind for a long time: help people at a fundamental level.

I believe that this statement embodies virtually everything I do. Whether it’s helping a friend in need, developing a new technology, or even yo-yoing, I’m working to bring positive energy into the world.

A Look Forward

I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to say I’m still living the dream.

Maybe “what’s now and what I am dreaming about” is a better title. I have no clue what my life looks like 3 months from now. And that’s okay. Better than okay actually — incredibly exciting. Here’s a quick rundown of what I’m doing and where I want to go:

My main focus moving forward is Augment Health, where we’re working to improve people’s experiences with medical care and treatment, so people can live holistically healthy lives instead of being held back by their medical conditions. We’re starting by giving people back their bladder sensation so they can get rid of urine collection bags.

In tandem, I’m working on outlining my next steps for personal development. I’m rebuilding my journaling practice, working on reading more books, and improving my personal productivity systems. I’d also like to continue yo-yo-ing, ballroom dancing (let me know if you want to learn or are looking for a partner) and learning yoga (Apple Fitness+ has really gotten me into it).

I’m excited to continue working on Jaredigms, my own little microcosm that hopefully lets people gain a glimpse into my mind and my life.

I would also like to give back to the community. I learned delayed gratification only works for so long and I know I need to make an impact now, while still investing in the future. I’ve been mentoring at hackathons and taught beginner ballroom dance lessons during my last semester at Tech, which was a good start. I want to do more.

Above all, I want to continue meeting people, building relationships, and learning what motivates everyone.

If we haven’t spoken in a while, I’d love to catch up. If we’ve never spoken, I’d love to learn more about what you’re working on, what you’re trying to do, and if there’s anything I can help out with (bonus points if you mention this article 😄). I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

∃