The Energy of Possibility

March 2024

For spring break sophomore year, a bunch of my friends and I found ourselves on a school-funded trip to San Francisco, California. Given the nature of the city, naturally, the trip was an entrepreneurship trip - and it was also my first time in California. I’d always heard that San Francisco was the place for big ideas, but what I didn’t realize was how those ideas seem to float in the air there - how creativity feels less like something people do and more like something the city itself breathes.

Our trip was the perfect blend of business and leisure. As part of our school itinerary, we visited a lineup of companies and start-ups - Adobe, Salesforce, and Google. Walking around Google’s campus and having lunch at their cafeteria, I was finally living my TikTok “What I eat in a day working at Google” fantasy. But more than that, it was fascinating to see how deeply the city’s energy runs through its companies. Unlike previous networking trips, these workplaces had a certain lightness - an ease that didn’t diminish their drive. The culture screamed laid-back ambition. People didn’t just work in San Francisco; they believed in it.

Of course, the leisure part of the trip is what made it unforgettable. A bunch of us - Akshita, Nicole, Sans, and I - arrived early to make the most of our time. We were staying in a slightly questionable Airbnb in Millbrae, but even that added to the adventure. Our mornings started with coffee and croissants from Arsicault, followed by stops at the Painted Ladies and the Palace of Fine Arts - each spot prettier than the last. When Muskan and Katherine joined us later for lunch in Chinatown, it felt like we were exactly where we were meant to be. The city buzzed with something intangible - maybe it was the rhythm of innovation, or maybe it was just the way San Francisco gleams in the sunlight - but I could feel it.

In between our business excursions, we found time to explore: walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, visiting the Ferry Building Marketplace, and eating our way through the city. One of my favorite meals was the most unexpected - a chicken tikka masala pizza that somehow combined the comfort of home with the boldness of innovation. It sounds chaotic, but it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. And maybe that’s the perfect summary of San Francisco - a blend of the familiar and the inventive, the simple and the extraordinary.

View from the Salesforce Tower

To make the most of the trip, we also stayed an extra day at the end. Another hotel check-in (thankfully less shady), six girls crammed into one room, and we were off again - chasing one last perfect day. The weather cooperated beautifully - the fog lifted, the sun came out, and the city seemed to glow for us. We rode the cable cars, visited Lombard Street, and ended the day at Baker Beach, my favorite spot of the entire trip.

It wasn’t just the view that stood out - though the Golden Gate glistening in the background was postcard-perfect - it was the people. Everyone moved slower, smiled easier, laughed louder. There was a calm confidence in the air, a reminder that ambition and peace don’t have to be opposites. For once, life didn’t feel like a hustle. And maybe that’s the real energy of San Francisco - that beautiful balance of drive and ease, of dreaming big without burning out.

Standing there on the sand, surrounded by friends, the wind in my hair and the city at my back, I realized something. San Francisco isn’t just a place for startups - it’s a place for starting. Ideas, friendships, possibilities. The energy of the city doesn’t just belong to the tech giants or the entrepreneurs; it belongs to anyone bold enough to imagine something new.

I went to San Francisco to learn about innovation. I left learning something better - that sometimes, possibility isn’t just an idea. It’s a feeling. And in that city, I could feel it everywhere.