Things to be grateful for

God I am really just so fortunate to exist in this day and age.

• 50yrs ago, as a type one diabetic I’d probably lead an incredibly sad life. I’d have constant mood swings, deteriorating vision/heart/muscles, probably lose a leg, and be suffering like no tomorrow. Nowadays, thanks to technology, it’s somewhat normal. I can access insulin cheaply in Australia and despite it still being very hard and challenging, I can still live at least a good life.
• I got really into programming when I was young. Programming is one of those occupations that makes you a lot of $$$ and you can teach yourself for free. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised - this is actually super rare. There aren’t a lot of careers where you can get such leverage as anybody from nowhere. I think about being a scientist or someone doing stuff that’s really socially useful - and how much harder it is to make $$$.
• Capitalism (for all its bad parts) is really quite incredible when you have capital. Suddenly - just being intelligent - you can leverage yourself by investing. It’s not really talked about - it’s only 100yrs old. But you can build wealth just by being someone who wants to deeply read and research.
• Australia. Just growing up in Australia, it’s the best. It’s the 1st class of everywhere. Sunshine, good education, good institutions, good people, good nature. The only place Americans want to move to.