What 5 years of tech work in Silicon Valley has Taught Me

Photo by Martin Shreder on Unsplash

It was a typical arrival to an atypical place. A few exits away from Sand Hill Road, in 2015 I was dropped off by my second cousin to the driveway of a house that would be my temporary lodging. I didn’t bring much — a few clothes, my laptop bag, and dreams of breaking into tech. At the time, Big Tech hadn’t become a four-letter word. There was just the promise of growth and change. The…