I grew up in a developing country with an authoritarian government. Moving from there to an American liberal arts college, I learned a lot more about how the world works: politics, economy, technology, history, arts--the whole gamut. But a lot of that learning didn't happen just because I was in America. It happened also because I reached out the right people and was open the right opportunities.

Now I'm in the Bay area working in data science for one of FAANG. My daily life so far has been 9-5 at the company, 3 meals at the company, conversions with people at the company. The work is interesting, but certainly not mind-blowing (given that I'm quite similar to my teammates--we're all hired by the same standards after all.)

How to take advantage of being in the Bay to grow intellectually? Like when I moved to the States, I want to make a conscious effort to grow. Should I reach out more to people doing great work at my big corp? Do I need to go out (then where?) Where are the ideas that challenge my beliefs and work that forces me to learn?