I recently listened to an episode of the 99% Invisible podcast on curb cuts and it made me pause to appreciate some of the curb cuts I experienced. One with the most profound impact on my life is the Internet.

Without it I wouldn’t be where I am. I wouldn’t have learned English well enough to be confident and fluent without all those hours binge-watching Bones and Grey’s Anatomy. I wouldn’t reignite my interest in programming without free MOOCs and open-source communities. I would never go to New York to join the Recurse Center, I wouldn’t go to meetups to make friends and find jobs, I finally wouldn’t meet my partner and move to Canada.

The Internet gave me opportunities and support I needed to take advantage of them. A space to explore, experiment and embarrass myself. A way to learn resilience and build up confidence by overcoming challenges, making mistakes and getting back on my feet.

It’s often a mixed bag, yet I can’t be anything but grateful.