a letter for you

from your perspective, what are my top 1-3 strengths, and how do you think they show up in how I affect others?

• storyteller

  the first thing I noticed and loved about you was your passion for the things you do, it is very contagious. I love to hear your perspective on things. it's funny to say, but it tickles my brain. I love the questions you ask; it tells me you are listening and are curious. one vivid memory I have was on my first day in SF where we were talking about hackathons and AI in education. I had a lot of fun, that conversation was one big reason I wanted to work with you.

  you also articulate your thoughts very nicely. I love reading your blogs. that's one thing I am trying to learn from you.

• honest to yourself

  you are very real. I love people who are themselves. I respect you a lot for being this way. our conversation after you left AMT meant a lot to me. I have had to leave behind something I spent my heart and soul building, so your decision to leave because you wanted to be honest with yourself is very admirable. at times when I am questioning if I am being honest to myself or not, I catch myself wondering "WWTD."

  I think it's because of you being this way that people stand by you. anyone I have met who knows you has immediately lit up when you are mentioned, and I would too.

• fluid

  one thing I notice working with you is how open you are to input and your willingness to try out new things and look at new perspectives. sometimes I let my ego get in the way and tend to shut down ideas, and that's something I am trying to get better at not doing, yet another thing I would love to learn from you.

what is one piece of feedback you think would challenge me the most but could really help me grow?

this is coming from a very personal place.

there was this one time my friend had come to the office. I was quite excited to introduce him to you guys and show him the office. I have worked together with him almost every day for the past two years and wanted to share a little part of my AMT life with him. I remember we had a conversation that day about him being there, and it was along the lines of: you and Christian want me to give my 100% to AMT and you don't want me to be distracted. I felt quite disheartened that day. I felt like I did not belong. there definitely would have been other factors as to why that conversation happened that day, but I remember I felt quite small and not a part of the space you guys created, because I used to see Holly working out of the office sometimes with Christian, but I couldn't share that part of my life with my friend. he would work out of the Peet's Coffee down the road and would ask me if he could come to the office to use the loo, and honestly, after that conversation I was scared to say yes.

the meta point being, I sometimes struggled to feel like I belong or was understood, and that also stopped me from being open to you and Christian. I knew you were stressed and had so many things going on, and now knowing everything you were going through with Christian, I don't blame you for it, but my feedback is: trying to understand and giving the space for people to be the real them, letting them feel like they belong.

I think my time at AMT would have been very different if I felt like I had the space to be me. I felt that way after I quit, it was very freeing.

I also don't do a great job at this. I think I'm quite good at making space for myself to be real, but I'm not the best at always creating a space that makes people feel like they belong. Justice does an exceptionally great job at this.

it's easy to put all of these words in hindsight, but in the moment, I'm pretty sure you were as clueless as I was.

based on what you know about me, who is one person you think I should meet?

I have said this before, haha, I think you should meet Vivek Bhaiya. but if I could do magic and let you meet anyone in the world, I think you should meet Richard Feynman. I know you would love that!