On to the next one:

On Home and Dreams

Last week, I wrote a post about how I got sick, had to go through tons of medical tests, thought I was dying but wasn’t, and how the experience made me see the world differently and question things I hadn’t questioned in a long time. The days since have been surreal.

I still don’t have most of the answers to the questions I asked during my fake death sentence. I probably never will and I’m okay with that. But I do have clarity on one major question that kept coming up.

So, I resigned from Reddit yesterday. And Sallie, Jebediah, and I are moving back to Utah on March 5.

I joined Reddit about 21 months ago. I’ve seen three CEOs hold the reigns. I’ve moved to two different cities. And I’ve worked on three different products.

I’ve seen the site grow exponentially. I’ve seen lives changed through collective compassion. And I was blessed to be in the room when Josh pitched The Button as 2015's April Fool’s prank/gift.

I’ve seen, from the inside, what public scrutiny of a company looks and feels like. I’ve seen my coworkers exhibit resilience when the rest of the world was hurling insults and doubt.

It’s been a wild ride — start to finish and I’m a better me for having taken it.

I still think Reddit will be dominant. I think it will continue to have the best communities and content on the web. I think the site will be both a place of inclusive transparency while not being fearful of confronting difficult conversations. It’ll take work but I believe all that will happen because Reddit is on firmer ground now than ever.

I just can’t build towards those things anymore.

That’s the weird thing about this process. I still deeply believe in Reddit. I still think the team, the leadership, and the technology are going to do profound good on earth. I feel like I was given an awesome opportunity working here and felt like there were more opportunities for me here on the horizon.

But, I also kept asking myself questions about home. What does it even look like? Where is home for me and my family? Will I ever find it? Is it a place? Is it a state of mind? Am I comfortable with my “home” being a place of economic insanity where rent costs $4000 a month? I kept asking myself about dreams and ambitions and whether I was sharing mine with Sallie and Jebediah, or if I was just dragging them along the journey.

Ultimately, I need to get back to a place where I’m walking alongside them. Not in front. Not behind. Alongside. Together.

So, it’s time for us to go back home and start building our dreams and ambitions together.

I’m excited for Utah. I’m excited to see the mountains and visit the deserts. I can’t wait to be a part of a small, tight-knit group of builders. I’m excited to buy a house and not deal with landlords anymore or have to move every 12 months. I’m excited for the city’s grid system and impending access to Google Fiber. I’m excited to be able to go to Eggs in the City with my best friend. And hiking in Moab with Jeb and Sallie? Awesome.

I can’t wait for seasons again — the blustery, snowy days of winter and the dry heat of Salt Lake summers. I’m excited for our church — a place where diversity, pursuing truth, and compassion were always more important than dogma and holiness.

And Cottonwood Canyon in the fall? Words can’t express how I long for that.

I feel the warmth of home thinking about all of it.

I couldn’t be more excited for my next steps professionally, too. I’m joining an early-stage startup called Movement Ventures. They’re building a great product called Boombox and it’s just scratching the surface of what it is going to do long-term. The products and people involved are all invigorating and they all smell and look and feel like home.

Cheers to all of you in the Bay Area that made this experience great. Another cheers to my fellow redditors. For the coffees and cocktails, the advice, and the friendship. You all know who you are and you’re all working on world-class things because you’re all world-class people. I’m a better me because I have had you in my life. Thank you. A million times, thank you.

But for now, it’s onto the next one.