Level Playing Field

May 15, 2025

You learn more about startups and tech in three months in San Francisco than in four years in Michigan.
The place is buzzing-startups, builders, dreamers, people pitching ideas over coffee like it's the most natural thing in the world.
It makes you wonder what college might've felt like if you'd spent all four years here-or just grown up around this kind of energy.
There's a certain advantage to being raised or educated in an environment like this.
Exposure alone can shift your entire trajectory.

That thought felt oddly familiar.
Freshman year, I remember having a similar spiral.

I used to think college was a leveler.
Back in Chennai, in school, the playing field felt equal-same textbooks, same exams, same teachers. I believed success was purely about effort.
But college made one thing clear: level playing fields don't really exist.
Some people arrive with a head start-networks, referrals, AP classes, SAT tutors, international schools, parents in tech.
A kind of invisible awareness you didn't even know you were supposed to have.
And the worst part? You don't even realize the game started before you showed up.

Funny how that same realization resurfaced senior year, just dressed differently.
Freshman year and senior year ended up sharing more roundabout thoughts than I expected.

Sometimes I wonder-would I have preferred that life or this one?
But there's a rule I've always lived by: be proud of where you've come from-your parents probably fought harder than you'll ever know to get you here.
And second: I'm glad I didn't grow up in a bubble.
Not the school bubble where everyone was set on heading straight to the U.S.
Nor the college bubble where everyone was building startups by sophomore year.
My life had range. People from all walks of life. All kinds of dreams. All kinds of realities.

And that helped.
It made me realize I'm doing what I want to do-not because of peer pressure, but because I chose it.
It gave me perspective, empathy, and the ability to understand people whose stories looked nothing like mine.
These aren't things we count when we talk about "level playing fields."
We talk about connections. Referrals. Who knows who.
But we don't talk enough about the invisible skills-the ability to adapt, to empathize, to navigate uncomfortable spaces with grace.
The kind of skills that help you not just meet great people, but understand them.

Sometimes, you have to zoom out.
Realize life isn't fair.
But that doesn't mean you can't build something beautiful out of what you've got.

Something you learn quickly in college:
There's no such thing as a real level playing field.
Where you're from, the language you speak, the color of your skin, whether your country was colonized by the British-it all plays a part in how far you've come, and how much further you'll have to go.
Some of it was decided long before you were even born.
It just takes a while to realize it.
But your job is to get on the field anyway-
and play your heart out.

You can't spend your time complaining about the kids who had tutors, AP credits, or parents with referral chains.
You have to outwork that gap-and sometimes, you won't.
And that's okay.

But don't regret where you started. You did the best you could with what you knew-and that counts.
Growth isn't about having it all figured out from the beginning. It's about moving forward with what you've got.

And if you're one of the lucky ones-if you do have access, support, the right circles, or the referral chains-use them.
Use them without guilt. Just don't forget to open that door for someone else, too.

Because in the long run, you're not just building a career.
You're building who you are.
And that'll always be your greatest edge..

I came in feeling out of place. I left knowing I belong.