37 things I believe

1. People are good.
2. Environments and systems are not inherently good and can cause bad outcomes.
3. Everyone has a unique perspective that you can learn from.
4. Kindness and empathy are the most valuable basic skills for citizenship — being a good human.
5. Kindness is not a transaction, nor is it a form of pity; it's something you do for your own sake.
6. People deserve to be loved and respected by others.
7. There is no higher purpose.
8. You don't need to be "good enough" for anyone.
9. Find a place for yourself.
10. Even if you can't change the world, you can change someone's world.
11. Bootstrapping: help yourself before you help others.
12. Inspiration is scarce but so meaningful; nurture it when you can.
13. Make artifacts that you love to look at and interact with, years later.
14. Curiosity helps people understand their place in the world.
15. It's difficult to give good advice; focus more on support and guiding others to self-discovery.
16. If you're truly happy and confident in yourself, then you are bulletproof.
17. A belief that you're confident in doesn't need to be shouted loudly.
18. People's actions stem from values and are usually reasonable, even if you can't understand them.
19. There are no bad careers, except those whose work hurts others.
20. It's better to leave a heated discussion than to stubbornly defend your point.
21. Art is a way of communicating human experience.
22. No one can live happily and thrive without the support of others.
23. Any human can be your friend, if they are kind, respectful, and open, and you are as well.
24. Hierarchies and in-groups usually lead to bad outcomes.
25. Tribes usually lead to bad outcomes.
26. Loving another person is a powerful commitment to optimism for the future.
27. It's difficult to find meaningful connection; this takes effort.
28. Be more playful.
29. Don't worry about checking off society's boxes (if you can avoid it).
30. Some people study / analyze rigorously while others create castles; both worlds are valuable.
31. Aesthetic criticism is difficult, yet we still look up to people who excel at their craft.
32. Fields should be maximally open and inclusive to as many diverse people as possible.
33. Educational resources should be freely and widely distributed.
34. Software is not just a tool; it's intrinsically the language and medium of computation.
35. Our world relies on more software than could ever be written by a small group.
36. Computational literacy is essential for civic participation.
37. If you want to create anything meaningful, you need to study cross-disciplinary topics.