Namita Bhasin

Daniel Brusilovsky, renowned teen entrepreneur, wrote a post debating whether or not to go to college. As I tend to do, I got a little emotional in my response, but I find the subject important enough to repost it here.

Daniel,

I really admire what you’ve accomplished already – more than I have at 22 – but I really think you’re young and inexperienced enough that college may have something to teach you.

For you, college wouldn’t be about starting you on your career path. It would be more about finding people (friends, partners, significant others – especially valuable since there’s a relatively limited selection of people your age in your current circles) and expanding your knowledge of other things. Most entrepreneurs ignore me when I say this, but there is (at least a little) more to life than your startup. There is more to learn and be interested in than just what Silicon Valley and your current area of knowledge have to offer. It’s too early to isolate yourself from other opportunities.

Personally, I’m deeply involved in SV too, but I majored in Political Economy and Linguistics, two things that made little practical sense but were incredibly valuable for my own interest and enrichment. Academics aside, I lived on my own, got a taste of a different place and lifestyle, met different kinds of people, grew up, and had a little bit of fun. Four years of college was anything but a waste of time.

I really hope you decide to go to college. Continue what you’re doing by all means – being in school doesn’t mean you have to stop working – but I promise it’s worth going.

So. I’ve delayed the publishing of this post for six months (since winter break) because I feared it would damage my professional credibility. Well, now that I’ve procured employment, to hell with that! I’m about to tell the world what I really do with completely totally idle free time. Hehe.

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I only get a week or two a year to push everything important and pressing off the table, and so it is always an agonizing process to decide how to spend it. Some years it’s travel, some years books; this year I burned through the Twilight series. Silly self-indulgence for sure, but so worth it. It is exactly what time away from the real world should be.

Twilight and Harry Potter

Demographic: A subset of the Harry Potter crowd. Both series are magical and fantastical, a little bit dark, and integrable with the real world, but the fun and details focus in vastly different areas. This is why the overlapping targets are the older, female readers.

Release Patterns: I can see Twilight pulling a HP-like stunt with the movies - dragging them out over far longer than they ought to be - but I think it was smart not to do the books the same way. Harry’s saga (in book and movie form both) will have spanned about 12 years by the time it’s complete. The only reason people my age and older are still entranced is that it was an integral part of our upbringing and we can’t leave it unfinished. As long as the movies are still coming out, Harry is still picking up new fans, which keeps book sales going even though there’s nothing fresh on that front. Twilight movies will help with book sales in the same way, but their original target is going to grow up and get over it. So it’s a good thing all the books are out. The original fan club wouldn’t likely come back for more.

Twilight and Danielle Steel

When I was younger - 9, 11, something like that - I had a trashy romance phase. I would rush home after school to catch every possible minute of General Hospital, and my library lending history only further confirmed my true self to be a bored, middle-aged, under-sexed housewife. In my defense, I didn’t understand the naughty bits. I just liked the drama, excitement, and intrigue; I was captivated by the idea of falling in love in just that way.

Twilight is trashy romance for teens. If I were a decade younger, or even in high school, I would be obsessed. At the *ahem* ripe and mature age of 21, I still appreciate it for what it’s worth. Not literary genius by any means, not a brilliant exposition on any topic, but some good almost-clean wholly-engrossing fun. Something to sigh over and lose yourself in and yearn for, with some irrational part of your brain.

Props to Ms. Meyer on writing very graphic intimate scenes that safely illustrate nothing indecent but certainly have an indecent effect. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt tantalized by “sweet breath in my face” and “golden eyes boring into my soul” in quite that way. Heh. I turned so red that I was afraid to read in public.

Twilight and Real Life

You can picture it happening for real - the rich, aloof family in the dreary little town; mysterious inexplicable deaths and miracles. But the realistic context isn’t where Twilight’s ability to connect to the actual life is most valuable.

I agreed to read Twilight just to see what the hype was about, but the single strongest reason I read the entire series and came to like it was that it reminded me of some amazing things I’d forgotten, and was happy to remember. I remembered what it was like to be 16 and utterly consumed with another person. To fall in love young enough to be without caution or restraint. I remembered the drama and constant desperate analysis, and working around what was forbidden. I remembered the electricity of every tiny moment of contact and the feeling that it was never enough. I remember the unthinking and automatic commitment, despite not knowing where it was going, because I was so lucky to have it at that moment.

In the intervening years, I’ve gotten older and harder and too much more practical and careful. I could never give myself up with the same abandon now, which makes me a bit wistful even though I know that it’s better, safer. I suppose I’m fortunate to still have the same person to remember it with, though. <3

So thank you, Twilight, for reminding me of several private but vital phases of my life that I’m glad I haven’t forgotten.

I ditched (one) class Friday afternoon to go judge the Global Social Venture Competition. Someone had reached out to ST@B to see if anyone wanted to be a student judge for the Berkeley applications, so I signed up. After all, I’m interested in how ventures’ intentions can actually be socially beneficial. I didn’t know anything about it prior to - or after - volunteering, but I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get some ‘formal’ experience/training interacting with business plans.

I’ve had plenty of exposure to business plans via classes, internships, and talking shop with my dad, but I have this weird habit of seeking further instruction on certain topics whether I think I need it or not (why I keep going to stuff to “learn about social media,” for example). Story of my life, actually. I know a lot of stuff, but I’ve never gotten any kind of structured lessons on much of it, so I don’t know if I’m doing it right/well/properly. Perhaps that’s what business school is for, but that remains to be seen. I’ll let you know in a few years if I decide to go.

So I show up and walk into a room full of MBA students. Oops… didn’t get the memo on that one. Luckily someone asks me if I’m in one of his classes, so I suppose I didn’t appear too out of place. Actually, a few people at the She’s Geeky Unconference also assumed I was a grad student; I wonder what makes people think that. Anyway, instead of swooshing right over my head, the task at hand was totally manageable.

I’m rambling as usual, so here’s my point: It turns out I am well able/qualified to read and evaluate executive summaries that had taken MBA students presumably months of research and planning and writing to formulate. Yay for me, right? The sad part is, some of them were awful (I’m not an MBA so I don’t have to be politically correct!). I encountered badly written plans, full of typos and illogical sentence structure, and one that could have been amazing - if the core idea made any sense at all. Still another looked like the product of an hour of brainstorming over coffee with zero research backing it up (at least not in the summary). There are real judges that will decide which plans continue in the competition, but since they asked for my input, I strongly feel that some of those should not.

Does this mean I’m The Shit when it comes to business plans? Hah. I think it suggests that I can trust a lot of what I know even if it isn’t formally delivered information. It may also mean that I can continue learning for my career in the way that I have been so far - nonacademically and sometimes haphazardly. I’m smart enough to discern what’s important. Indicator: when people ask what I’m majoring in (Linguistics, International Political Economy) and what kind of work I’m looking to do after grad (the non-technical side of the tech industry), they no longer ask what the relationship that can possibly be. I just talk about what I’ve done outside and around school, and they’re satisfied.

Well, at least it looks like I know what I’m doing.

As some of you know, I have recently experienced a mild crisis of indecision. It’s not that I don’t know what I want to do with my life, but more that I’m not sure how to do it.

I love technology and the internet; this is absolutely certain. I want to spend many of my waking moments and brainwaves in those arenas; this is [at least currently] true. However, I would like to this in such a way that is at least marginally relevant and helpful to some portion of humanity.

Quite relevant and helpful: physical and mental health, connecting people

Less relevant and helpful: throwing sheep, celebrities and makeup

You get the idea.

This presents a bit of a conundrum as I search for my first “real” job. The good news is that a lot of new technology being developed is for relevant and helpful things. The bad news is that a lot of internet business (specifically Web2.0 - do not give me grief for use of the term) is not. And unfortunately, all I really know is the internet.

So here’s an idea. It involves freelancing, and since I don’t have the network for this, I don’t know how to begin. Help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

I want to bring people online. First of all, everyone should love the internet, because it makes the universe a better place even - no, especially - if you’re not a techie. There is a ridiculous wealth of information out there about everything, just waiting to be consumed and shared by people it applies (and doesn’t apply) to. Allow me to explain.

The world I inhabit is disproportionately inhabited by technologically adept people. I don’t often encounter people whose lives take place offline. However, when I do, I usually feel that they would benefit by changing that. Their personal lives would be augmented, sure, but more often I think of how it would improve their livelihood, whatever it is. Areas this applies to:

- education

- medicine

- small retail/food/other brick-and-mortar establishments

So many easy improvements jump out at me; so much difference the simplest technology could make. Marketing, organizing information, operating costs, staying current… it depends on the entity in question, of course, but the list goes on. And I could do it for them - either myself or through resources I have. I can at least help them get started.

So this is something I want to do. I want to help bring people online. Except, in my world, I don’t know a lot of people like that to help. I don’t know a lot about freelancing either. I just know that I want to do something helpful to humanity, and that the internet is important, and that I want to learn more about industries other than the one I’ve chosen - this seems like a good way to do all of that.

Now, how do I get started?

For several years now, I have been mulling over the idea of a tattoo. Actually, that’s not quite right. I have been planning to get one - definitely - but there’s just a slight problem. I don’t know what to get or where to put it.

I want it to be small and slightly inconspicuous. Something tasteful, somewhere decent where people (including myself) can see it, but not when I don’t wish it. Haven’t decided if I want color or not (I suppose that depends on what it is) but I’m leaning towards not.

I’m going to crowdsource this, because I want all the input I can get. I’m about to brand myself and I’d like some help deciding exactly what that brand is going to be. I don’t really have a me-symbol, or a favorite flower or Chinese character, nor am I particularly religious or desirous of anyone’s name on my person. This makes it a bit difficult to choose a design. I want my friends and family who know me to weigh in, and I want some strangers with a fresh perspective to say how they see me too. Some potential designs will be up soon, so check back in and tell me what you think

I know those of you who know me don’t/won’t take this seriously because I’ve never done anything particularly rebellious or crazy. The most drastic physical change I’ve ever made was cutting off 7-8 inches of my hair just before Thanksgiving this year, which most people didn’t even notice. I wonder if that week I went to the gym 3 times also counts… Anyway, this is going to happen because I’m on a time crunch now. I want to do this before I leave Berkeley in May.

There are a few reasons:

1. I want to get it in Berkeley, and it will be lame to come back for it after I leave. I didn’t spend 4 years here to go get a tattoo in *insert eye-roll here* Cupertino.
2. I want to do it while I’m in college. I never did any of the wild-crazy-fun-only-in-college stuff that everyone does. No drinking, no partying, no boys, no insane weekend adventures. This will be my last chance for something like that, and it will be the thing I remember at the end of college. I wouldn’t mind one small permanent reminder that I was a bit of a college kid, too.
3. I want to foray into the rest of life with myself ready to go - I’m going to fix my closet, my room, my body, my style, my thing. I’ve always felt scattered and constantly behind and I am going to take a few months after graduation to catch up with myself and figure out everything I’ve never had time to figure out before. Tattoo is one item on that very, very long list.
4. It’s been long enough! Of course I’ll do the whole 3-week-Sharpie test, but I’ve wanted a tattoo for long enough that it isn’t an impulsive decision. I’ve really thought about what it means to etch something onto my person forever and I’ve decided that I like the idea of actually doing it on my own terms, kind of like when I gave myself a middle name at the age of 6. I haven’t regretted that; isn’t this kind of the same thing? (My parents humored me and got it legally changed - I hope they’re as understanding with this!)

Anyway, yeah, I want a tattoo. Please argue with me, encourage me, tell me your experiences, suggest designs. I want to hear all of it!

I recently found this article on Twitter, which I use to narrow down my daily reading. I forget who tweeted it, but thank you VERY much for bringing it to my attention.

Healthcare is an issue I feel incredibly strongly about. My own family has been ridiculously burdened with insurance battles my whole life and now, as I begin to seek employment, my single largest concern is finding adequate coverage. Prescriptions and co-pays and specialized treatment and equipment are so expensive, and that isn’t even the end of it. Monthly premiums (whether paid by employers or not) are a huge and constant expenditure. It would be a horrible feeling to have to choose between buying medication and funding your retirement, or buying your groceries.

I knew the numbers (I forget them now, but you can find some here): Americans spend far more on healthcare as a portion of GDP than any other nation and that amount is rising. This is economically inefficient - those dollars could be going elsewhere, investing in expanding our economy, increasing trade with other nations, saving the world - but instead we are spending them on something that a lot of other modern nations have already taken care of. I won’t pretend to know a lot about the English economy, but my guess is it’s handling the cost of universal healthcare without taking too much of a hit or pissing off too many people. Please do tell me if I’m wrong.

I have never understood why employers are the conduit of healthcare in our society. It makes very little sense, as far as I can see. It discourages entrepreneurship and other independent pursuits, which I have always assumed to be a positive thing for American culture and economy. It is incredibly restricting and incredibly unfair to those whose jobs provide only the crappiest of coverage. Why should they be entitled to fewer benefits than others? Since when did wealth or things similar to wealth determine a person’s right to be healthy?

I believe health is an inalienable right. I do not think any external entity deserves to control it in any way. Only he can choose to take away his own health (and if he does, he is a damned idiot, but we won’t go into that today). Therefore, a person’s status - whether that be his social standing, income, his job, or his very state of employment - does not sensibly have any links to that person’s right to have the best treatment possible. Especially given this economic climate, it is unfair to further disadvantage those who have already lost their jobs. They should not have to worry about losing their healthcare too.

I have run out of steam for tonight, but I think I said most of what I wanted to say. I sincerely hope the incoming administration will act on this vital issue. They are in a position to do so, what with the major overhaul of so many other economic policies, and this one would cost so much less than the others. History has proven that running a deficit - even an inconceivably huge one - is the right thing to do when the nation is suffering, because those expenditures can have lasting positive effects on the lifestyles and mindsets of the American people. After all, how can you even consider worrying about anything else if you can’t be sure of your own health first?

I finally made a profile on Yelp. I use it so damn much that I figured I should throw in my two cents from time to time, in case anyone cares to know. So far I’ve reviewed a handful of Berkeley joints and will add more from time to time as I get bored in class, hungry, etc.

I’m also avoiding midterm studying. Somehow it’s hard to concentrate on the distant past when all I want to do is figure out the future. I really do love history but more often than not, it’s so far from high tech that it’s hard to switch gears back and forth. Therefore, it’s goodbye to the virtual world until I’ve learned enough about political theory to indulge myself on the web. Gotta love being a liberal arts student.