Why should we all explore more
“Did you ask for people’s contacts?” I asked my friend, who was clearly stressed about job hunting.
“Why would I? It’s a reading night,” she replied, instantly dismissing the idea.
And I get it. We often reject ideas because they feel weird, uncomfortable, or because we don’t believe we can pull them off. Sometimes, we just don’t see the value — until much later, when we realize we were completely wrong. Here are some of the explorations that proved me wrong.
Exploration #1: Finding Aliens
Yesterday, I joined an alien hackathon — on a ship. Yes, a literal ship. I knew nothing about aliens, but it sounded cool, so I went.
Surprisingly, most people there were casually talking about their experiences seeing aliens. Wild, right? I was skeptical, of course. But I was also fascinated. So, instead of dismissing it, I leaned in.
I found a paper analyzing the question “Do aliens exist?” and ended up building a Monte Carlo simulation in just a few hours. It explored the interval between the emergence of the first and second civilizations. Even in a galaxy full of life, the time gap between those two could be millions of years. That’s a massive head start for civilization #1.
This could explain the Fermi Paradox — maybe we’re alone, or maybe the first civilization came and went, leaving the rest of us alone on purpose (Zoo Hypothesis: Aliens are watching us like we are animals in the zoo).
Two woah moments from this:
- Maybe aliens do exist… and now I kind of want one as a pet.
- When I’m curious, I can learn, understand, and replicate a research paper in just a few hours.
That experience made me believe in exploring things I know nothing about — and in how AI can accelerate my ability to learn.
Exploration #2: Doubling My Pay
My inbox is always full of cold messages from recruiters, but I never respond. I always thought I didn’t have time, or that I wasn’t good enough. After all, my founder once told me I just “met expectations.”
But as I continued building my education project, I started wondering about the interview process. So I began taking some calls.
Woah. I was way better than I thought.
Hiring managers were genuinely excited. One even said, “You got a glowing review from our senior engineer — can we fly you to NYC for the final round?” Oh, and the offer? Double my current pay and more.
I was stunned. Being around people who constantly brag about their skills had made me feel small. And with all the doom-and-gloom about the job market, I assumed I didn’t stand a chance.
But once I opened myself up to exploring, I realized how much I’d grown. I got flooded with calls. People were impressed. I was surprised.
How would I have known I could double my salary easily if I hadn’t explored?
Exploration #3: I Can Drive!
One of my goals this year was to pass the written driving test. I couldn’t afford to take driving lessons in San Francisco, so I only planned to prep for the test.
But then… my visa situation left me stuck in Taiwan.
At first, I was frustrated. But with nothing else holding me back, I just started driving there. And guess what? I got really good at it because my visa got stuck for so long. So good, in fact, that I started thinking — maybe I can actually get a real license.
This week, I passed my written test in the U.S. with ease.
I learned that even when circumstances don’t go your way, they can still open unexpected doors. When things change, there’s always room to explore.
Exploration #4: I Can Be Single and Happy!
While I was waiting (forever) in a two-hour line for my driving test, I started chatting with the woman behind me. She turned out to be a single mom.
I asked her what it’s like, since I’ve always heard it’s tough — possible, but really hard. She shared how amazing her life is now that she has support, community, and freedom. She even told me there’s a large community of women who choose to raise children solo — and they thrive, and she is jealous of their life.
I’d been feeling so much pressure to find a partner, mostly because I was afraid of raising a child alone. But she flipped that idea completely. According to her, it’s much harder to navigate a divorce and co-parenting in a toxic relationship than it is to go solo with support and intention. You lost money in the lawsuit, and it’s stressful while she felt taking care of “two kids” when she was with her partner. Let alone the child custody will tie you and your divorced partner together in the same city.
And suddenly… I felt free. Like, really free.
Yeah! I can be happily single. I don’t need to rush. The pressure’s off. Problem solved!
All of these explorations started with just a bit of curiosity and a willingness to try. Even when the steps seemed small — like answering a random recruiter call — they sparked new ideas, opened unexpected doors, and gave me momentum to dive deeper.
What once felt impossible started to feel doable, even exciting.
The world is a big, uncertain place. You can see that as a reason to play it safe and follow the well-trodden path. Or — you can see the same uncertainty as an invitation to explore, to treat life as a playground of discovery.
(PS the next exploration I wanna try is to demo on cursor’s event. It sounds super scary, but I’m setting this intention. Cheer for me!)
