It’s okay to be the oldest person at the table. I was on Friday at an AI hackathon in Oakland, and I’m so glad I showed up. The group I worked with came together organically. We were excited to be around people who shared our enthusiasm for AI and eager to use it to work on civic issues affecting our city. Hearing what these younger people had already accomplished and what they were into, I was impressed. Proud, too. I brought my energy, enthusiasm, skills, and experience. They brought theirs. And that combination worked. There was even a little shade about my cursive writing and my loud menopausal fan, which somehow got louder when I tried to stop it. 😂 And I couldn’t even be mad because it was funny. There were a few people my age and older in the room. If I had let myself get preoccupied with being older, I might have tried to force those interactions because they seemed more familiar. I could have missed the connections that happened naturally, and honestly, I may not have had as much fun. The hope is that we’ll continue this work together, and I’ll check in when there’s more to share. But to my 45-and-up community: get out there, y’all. Go to the events. Sit at the table. Be the oldest. Be the youngest. Follow something you’re interested in and see who you connect with. There are so many people you haven’t met yet who you might really enjoy building with, who will enjoy building with you.