Three years have gone by since I left the world of academia to pursue life in the tech world. For all it is hyped to be and in some case is -free food, incredible opportunities, high growth, passionate peers- it can also be an absolute pressure cooker of intensity with a side of compete isolation. As a young person, it is difficult to create boundaries between personal and professional and for an industry that is so technical, there is so much to be done, always. Enter the phenomenon of always being on. You could be gallivanting through the alleyways in Delhi or commuting home in San Francisco and there will be an expectation for an email turnaround time of 45 mins. Once you reach home, you forget your age, opportunities for fun and literally crash for a brief respite before you start it all over again. Sometimes, if you’re lucky though, you meet the kind of people who make you forget that you’re exhausted, who drag you out of bed and insist on just being with you. There have been moments where I’ve been so dead but Natasha will entice me with the allure of lovingly home cooked chai or biryani, some incredible concert or experience, or quick takeaway from @juhubeachclub and we will just eat and chill with 0 expectations for anything else. Or Bilal, who can as simply say “talk to me” and help offload so much of the day or who can challenge any notions of napping with “you’re coming out”. Or Bernie, who will answer the most frantic of text messages with the sagest, spiritual advice. It’s such a lovely feeling when your coworker becomes a best friend. And so much more fun to scroll through your pictures and see all of the experiences outside of work that you have shared. In happiness and crappiness, they’ve got your back, with smiles and healthy doses of chai to boot.