that one speech steve jobs gave

i watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYAnJ_QyCQg&t=4s) and it reminded me of steve jobs' commencement speech in its entirety. watching it long ago motivated me, but i didn't understand it well until now. reflecting on it even more, i realized three things that actually matter.

1. connecting the dots

looking back at my entire journey since birth, people i met played the biggest role. this is something i say quite often. my mom and dad had a counterintuitive approach to raising me. they aren't the best example of a couple but very good parents.

my mom always pushed me toward building my personality. she put me in sports classes, music classes, coding classes. guitar, keyboard, singing, basketball, tennis. anything you can think of, i've done it and eventually dropped it. but that's exactly the reason i'm a jack of all trades and understand different streams. i always knew a little bit of everything, no matter how bad i was at it.

my dad supported my education and learning journey really well. he trusted me with tech, giving me a laptop and a phone at a really young age. that transformed me and showed me another world. he put in effort 30 hours a day to provide for me and my family. he put me in coding classes even when financial strain couldn't have been more. he kept me happy. they put together every penny they had to help me get the best opportunities and schooling.

they also put me in editing and movie production classes which was a fun sidequest. somehow i used all those skills i learned, always somehow or the other. no matter how bad i was at it, i still knew a little bit.

going to the states, i thought i would live there forever. it was amazing. i got into hackathons and met amazing people. but coming back felt like it could be the worst and most saddening decision ever. it turned out to be really good and helped me expand my horizons and skills in ways i couldn't think of. i would've never started aurakode with aarya and jai. i wouldn't have done so much otherwise.

2. love and loss

because of everything they did, i found what i loved doing last year. building cool shit. i love making things and exploring what exists and doesn't. solving problems, no matter how big or small, no matter if i succeed or not. i give it a try and see what it teaches me.

it wouldn't have happened without them.

i want to empower every single being on this planet with tech. that's become my mission. what i want to focus on. the future of tech. but by building it, not silently watching it. as steve would say, put a ding in the universe.

while watching whiplash with the person i love, i realized my answer to this question: "i'd rather die drunk, broke at 34 and have people at a dinner table talk about me than live to be rich and sober at 90." i chose 34 always. i would do some epic shit and die drunk, homeless, drugged at 34 than live till 90 and be sober while every organ in my body hurts. because i put a ding in the universe. that's what's important to me.

i realized the value of personal relationships and communication more after coming back. i owe it all to the person i love because she helped me understand myself more and become better and understand the value of it more. of course, my posts next year might not mention her, but all these people played a big part in my life. i can't forget about that because they're the reason i learned something and became better.

3. death

"live everyday as if it's your last and someday you will be right." i want to embody this more and learn how to do that more.

i need to leave knowing i did what i loved and i did something real. everything falls away in the face of death. to fix that, all i need to do is prove myself right and be true and right to myself. not creating a false myth based history to myself to prove my actions right, but for reflection, acceptance and change.

fix it asap and get ahead with my life. it takes time but it's important.

so what now?

steve's speech stuck with me because it wasn't about inspiration. it was about honesty. dots connect backwards. people matter more than plans. death makes everything clear.

i'm not trying to live forever or build something that lasts forever. i'm trying to build something real right now. with the people around me. for the people i care about.

the video reminded me that i'm on the right path. not because i'm successful or have it figured out, but because i'm actually doing the things that matter to me. building. learning. loving the people in my life.

that's the ding in the universe i want to make.