A Proposition for Yes Theory.
TL;DW
Last week, I was laid off from my first job (after graduating from college this summer) at Meta just three months after starting it. While unexpected and saddening at first, I now view this as a blessing in disguise. Most of my life, I’ve chosen – and been encouraged to choose – paths that one could call comfortable. But deep down, I’ve always felt out of place and that I’m destined for something different; that I must carve my own, unique path. Yes Theory has been an important catalyst for my shifting mindset, and it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to volunteer my time and skills towards the Seek Discomfort mission as I embark on a journey to find what it is that I care about most. 🔭
What do I bring to the table?
- 🏡 Passion about Building Communities
- I grew up in 🇫🇮 and two very different parts of 🇮🇳 before moving to the 🇺🇸 for college. As a result, there are few things I enjoy more than learning from different cultures around the world and being a bridge to connect people.
- I had a brutal first couple years of college; I realized that I hadn’t found the friends I needed to encourage me to push myself to do what I love most: creating things. Since I couldn’t find this community, I decided to create one. With some other students (who are now my closest friends), I co-founded Sigma Eta Pi – Penn’s first co-ed entrepreneurship fraternity. Today, the community is 40+ members strong representing 20+ majors, with members having done things like founding a company valued at $1M and becoming a TikTok sensation with 500k+ monthly active Spotify listeners.
- ⚡ Conviction about the Seek Discomfort Mindset
- Here’s a video I made for a club application describing how the Seek Discomfort mindset turned my life around in college.
- 📸 Experience with Content Creation
- In college, I started a podcast called Genzius to share the stories of young people doing cool things. While I ended up not being able to balance it among other things, it taught me a lot about asking thoughtful questions and the business of podcasts.
- For about a year, I worked on Penn Masala’s (195k YouTube subscribers) business team, helping with outreach, thumbnails, and other growth related projects.
- I’ve written a few things that ended up gaining more traction than I was expecting: Instagram DM Hack for Mac (1000+ views, 50+ countries), SAT vs ACT Guide (2000+ views, 480+ downloads).
- In the past (at a very amateur level), I’ve dabbled in DSLR photography and video editing. I’ve also tried to tell stories using video - here’s a sample of my work.
- 🚀 Random Skills and the Ability to Learn Fast
- In college, I double majored in Computer Science and Design. I can build full-stack websites and apps, write scripts to automate things and analyze data, conduct user / market research, design user interaces and experiences, create visualizations and graphics, and other similar things.
- I don’t consider myself an expert in anything, but I feel generally confident in being able to pick up whatever is needed quickly to get sh*t done.
Why am I doing this?
I want to be around people who embody the Seek Discomfort way of life on a daily basis. Meeting Ammar + the crew, and the random strangers I met who are now my friends, during the NYC scavenger hunt has made me more excited and motivated than I’ve been in a long time. I’d be grateful for an opportunity to be involved with Yes Theory in any function to witness and learn from the magical work y’all do from up close (without any expectation of compensation).