"When people talk about traveling to the past, they worry about radically changing the present by doing something small, but barely anyone in the present really thinks that they can radically change the future by doing something small", quote from just-shower-thoughts.

This past weekend, I was in San Francisco for a ChatGPT Lab meetup, where Lab members across the US came together to share how students are using AI on their campuses.

Shortly after, I was invited to attend an OpenAI Town Hall, a much larger gathering that brought together builders from across the AI ecosystem. At the Town Hall, Sam Altman sat down for an open conversation about the future of building with AI, answering questions from the audience and speaking candidly about where things are heading.

What's crazy was that I didn’t expect to be on stage or to be live-streamed on OpenAI’s channels. I had planned the trip around the ChatGPT Lab meetup, mostly to meet people from our new cohort and share some of the use cases I’ve seen on campus. Because I wasn’t anticipating anything beyond that, I booked a return flight with an eight-hour layover, something I figured I’d tolerate for a quick visit.

Thanks to Katie, I ended up making much better use of my time in San Francisco than I expected. I arrived around late morning. The city felt calm and bright, the kind of light that makes everything feel temporarily possible. A few hours before the Town Hall, I stopped by to visit a friend who is currently interning at Figma while taking a full course load.

Spending time in the office was surreal in its own way. The space reflected a strong creative identity, walls and workstations alive with color and intention, filled with people who clearly cared about craft and expression. It was easy to see why working there feels like a dream for so many. (They even have free matcha!)

After that, I took the train over to OpenAI Mission Bay HQ. Walking in felt different from DevDay. I was less nervous this time, mostly because I already knew many of the Lab members in the room. While Figma's office leaned expressive and artistic, OpenAI’s environment emphasized restraint, clarity, and a balance between technical precision and human warmth. Simple, intentional, and quietly powerful.

That contrast stayed with me as the room filled and the conversation began.

When it was my turn to speak, I asked Sam for advice on how to build and stay relevant in the age of AI. He talked about becoming high agency, about building resilience in a world that's changing faster than any of us can predict. About staying adaptable when the ground keeps shifting, and getting good at generating new ideas rather than clinging to old ones. It wasn't a blueprint for navigating AI specifically. It was literally a framework for navigating uncertainty itself.

After the discussion, I spent time talking with other ChatGPT Lab members. We talked about how AI is showing up differently on each campus, how students are using it, where they are confused or skeptical, and what responsibility looks like when you’re helping introduce powerful tools into educational spaces. The conversations were grounded and honest, much less about hype and much more about trust, ethics, and long-term impact.

That part mattered to me the most.

It’s easy for AI conversations to swing to extremes, either fear-driven or blindly optimistic. Being in a room full of people who cared about nuance, stewardship, and community made the future feel less abstract and more human.

Later that night, I ended up stuck in an airport for eight hours during a layover in Vegas, sleeping on the cold floor and getting sick (I'm still sick as I'm writing this). The contrast was almost funny. One day you're discussing the future of AI with some of the most influential people in tech, and the next you're coughing in a terminal at three in the morning, using your backpack as a pillow. But that contrast felt honest. Life doesn't pause just because something meaningful happens. The extraordinary and the mundane don't take turns, they happen side by side, sometimes on the same day.

What I’m taking away from this experience isn’t the proximity to influence, but the reminder that showing up matters. Choosing to be visible, even knowing what that visibility can cost, matters. Small actions really do compound, even when they don’t feel significant in the moment.

I want to thank Katie for the invitation and for creating the conditions that made this experience possible. Her work in building the ChatGPT Lab community has been quietly transformative, giving students like me a place to learn, contribute, and belong in spaces we might not have otherwise accessed.

To the OpenAI community team: thank you for treating this work with the care and intentionality it deserves. For building not just products, but spaces where curiosity, responsibility, and human connection can coexist.

And to all the Lab members I met this weekend: thank you for showing up with honesty and heart. For asking hard questions, for caring about impact over hype, and for reminding me that the future of AI isn't just about what we build, it's about who we build it with.

Carpe diem.