Week 4

Week 4 Reflection: Belongingness 

I definitely don't feel unwelcome, as in I feel like people will not kick me out purely just because of their social etiquettes. At the same time, I feel very out of place looking at this tech event. Firstly, I don't have familiarity with the key topics that will be addressed, as in I don't know what half of these terms mean. Another thing that stood out in terms of not feeling super welcomed are the descriptions of the attendees. Given the assumption that I will be categorized as an attendee if I chose to attend, the websites description of who the attendees are do not fit who I am. This is the quote from the event home page: "Over 7,000 attendees are expected to join from across the globe including CTOs, Heads of Innovation and Technology, IT Directors, Telecom Providers, Developers, Start-Ups, OEMs, Government, Automotive, Operators, Technology Providers, Investors, VCs and many more". I am none of these, and I assume the people who are mentioned and attends are also looking for network opportunities with the attendees as well as the speakers. The images of the convention are not as intimidating as the list of previous speakers and the companies they represent are. There are a lot of logos that I do not recognize and the logo I do recognize like Starbucks, Levi's and AT&T are large corporations, so I am assuming the unfamiliar logos are all of the same scale and reputation for those who are in the industries. These messages subconciously inform me that I do not belong here as I will have nothing to offer. But, if I am more critical of my initial thoughts, I will feel like that is not entirely true. I am capable, just like anyone there, of learning about the industries and contributing to it if I give myself the grace to grow in this environment like everyone else did. Although I only have potential at this point, I can realize those potential by putting myself in spaces like this because I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.