What's that, you say? Wireless charging! SO. COOL. #thankyoustarbucks.
Skipping town this week has made me realize just how unique and special the area I have called home for the past four years can be. There's always been buzz about this 'Silicon Valley' place, this mystical land from which our iStuff and Facebook stalking and #nofilter's originate. I'm here today to give you a peek into this weird universe – although as a college student here, of course my perspective might be different from, say, that of a startup founder or CS professor or hip barista or sustainable living entrepreneur:
Firstly. The weather. It's perfect year-round – sunshine and smiles and cakes baked out of glitter and butterflies, straight up no exaggeration whatsoever. We're close to a hike in the redwoods or up a mountain if we so desire, or can also alternately beach it up in Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz. If nature's not your gig, then there's always a day in San Francisco or San Jose, or small town charm in Sausalito. The possibilities are endless, as are our credit card statements every month because cost of living = soul sucking money vacuum.
Every single conversation includes a startup idea or two (hundred). In fact, every other person you know has interned at / founded / pitched a startup or five. The other half of the people you know are employees of tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, which FUN FACT all have spectacular and free cafeterias and snack stations and all things good and holy. Google also has bikes. Which people steal sometimes, and leave all over the place. Jealous.
"Going to the store" is another way of saying "ordering from Google Express." The celebrities on campus are not the MVP of a gold-medal winning Olympic team or a Disney Channel actress, but Steve Jobs's son and Bill Gates's daughter. When discussing the implications of technology addiction, we're referring not to social media and iPads, but to virtual / augmented reality and The Next Big Thing. You have a minimum of four food delivery services on your smartphone, which you rotate based on who delivers from Chipotle, who's offering a promotion, and who could bring you toothpaste from Target. The only cars that rival Ubers and Lyfts ... are Teslas. Teslas everywhere.
