Experiencing SXSW V2V

Last week Karen and I co-authored an article for SXSW V2V. V2V is the newest branch of SXSW; the entrepreneur-focused wing and the only annual conference that happens outside of Austin (related read: What is SXSW V2V?).

Karen and I are on the advisory board and were excited when Jessica asked us to write about the panels from the conference that looked exciting. We started with an article about Exploring Possibilities with Social Entrepreneurship.

When writing the article, I found notes I made while stranded at the airport in Houston for several hours after last year's SXSW V2V. 

The plane ride back from a SXSW event is unlike any other. 

My brain is tired. I'm simultaneously overwhelmed and inspired. So inspired I begin writing at 3:30 in the morning before my flight out of Vegas. I continue at the airport, while waiting for my flight.

My travel requires a connecting flight in Houston which is disastrous because of the weather. My 40 minute layover turns into a 9+ hour delay with multiple re-bookings, standby opportunities which are given and taken away in the same breath. I am almost tears when it seems like I won’t be able to join my fellow comrades on the last flight out of Houston. The agent who is helping me senses my exhaustion and says “tell me about your day,”  a clever way to calm a passenger who is at the brink of a meltdown. He and a colleague solve the problem with ease. The panic subsides and I return to my normal level-7 panic. 

I’m exhausted. Bone tired. The desert heat, stimulation and conversation make me feel like I will never have an intelligent conversation with another human being. But, despite the exhaustion and my travel difficulties, I find myself brimming with inspiration, ideas and ready to seek opportunities.

Though this is my first time at SXSW V2V, I know that feeling. It happens to me every March when I leave SXSW and head back to reality. The inspiration makes me want to be a better person. I start see new possibilities. I'm inspired by the people who are blending together the unexpected. I'm humbled by meaningful work people are doing...

It's exhausting to step outside of your element, but you begin to see possibilities you would never see otherwise. The feeling I had at the end of SXSW V2V inspired our article. Join us in the desert.