Reflections From July 2020

Covid-19 and racially charged violence continued on in July, but at least it was summer. It was a month filled with a lot of picnics in the nearby park, dinner parties, and afternoons in the swimming pool. Yes, I have finally learned to swim. I now realize that I struggled to learn to swim because in that area of my life I was not teachable. My previous swimming instructors had tried to start by teaching me to float in the water first, which has always failed because - I am convinced - my bones are denser than water. But with support from my friends and my "try not to drown" method, I am proud to say I can now swim some. There is still a lot to learn of course.

I lament the summer travels I am missing out on this year because of the pandemic. But because I could not jet off around the world, I finally walked across the Golden Gate bridge with one of my favorite travel companions. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I fell in love with the San Francisco Bay Area once more. I suppose sometimes we set off looking for beauty elsewhere, when it was always in front of us. 

I hoped to reflect on my hopes for the next decade of my life in July, but ended up reflecting on the grief that my spirit holds instead. I suppose to decide on where in the world I want to set my roots and with whom, I must first understand how past losses have shaped my current approach to life. The traumas I have undergone have pushed me towards conservatism in how I live my life. This conservatism opposes my risk-seeking nature. So far I know one of the key components of a good life is to be surrounded by a loving community. How will I align my need for community with my professional ambitions?

Speaking of professional ambitions, I am loving my internship with Tsoga Africa. On the one hand, I am sad the pandemic has trapped me in California and precluded me from participating in this internship in-person. I am a people person and love to collaborate directly with individuals. That aside, I am excited by all the ways Tsoga is transforming the entrepreneurial landscape in Botswana: from commercializing the innovative research coming out of the Botswana International University of Science and Technology to facilitating the launch of a platform to enable entrepreneurs in the creative industries to get their work to consumers, and everything in between. It feels good to be a part of a mission-driven company, that aligns with my values and - in true Tsoga philosophy - with my inner dot. This partnership will last beyond this internship.

In as far as the Covid-19 project goes, my team and I made significant strides in incorporating costs and implementation constraints in the modified SIR model we built to understand the rise in covid cases in Botswana from truck drivers. My personal motivation shifted from hoping to assist Botswana in particular, but capturing this problem more generally. The hope is that our work will prove insightful to key decision makers in countries that are seeking to address this problem. I was also excited to find out we got featured by my department in the School of Engineering at Stanford.

Overall, July was a great month! If the world is going to burn down, then I might as well spend time with people I consider family, working on meaningful projects that have the potential to make humanity better, and listening to a lot of great music. One of my favorite composers, Thomas Bergersen, dropped Chapter I of his Humanity project and breathtaking does not begin to describe it. If you can, check it out. Wings, Mountain Call, and Beautiful People are my favorites.