Aug 1, 2026
Sometimes, I still can’t believe how much is possible in my life.
Back in 2 years ago, I was still a video game live streamer, playing video games I like all day, while occasionally watching some YC ish videos by the end of the midnight. I really enjoyed what I was doing — — winning a game (first person shooting game) needs the combination of reaction time, the ability to read your opponent and good team collaboration, so fascinating.
But in the deep side of my mind, I’ve always felt some part of me is missing. I remembered the time when I saw Steve Jobs unveiling the new version of iPhone in 2010, for the first time I realized the world was changing for the better — — those touchscreen smartphones were just like the god’s gifts to me at that time. That incredible transformation led me to channel my dissatisfaction with the fractured world around me into an idealistic faith in technology — — that it could bring a future used to exist in imaginary to reality. I had come to the thought that this was the right thing that I wanted to do for the rest of my life — — using technology to change the world. I didn’t know how to do it, though, I just knew that I needed to do well in what I was supposed to do at that time — get good grades, enter a good high school, enter a good university, and so on, and after that I can do whatever I want to do. I do did most of them. I entered into the best class in the best high school in my city, took math competitions, went into medical school (while still learning some math), chose to be a video game live streamer after graduation. I explored the world by what excited me the most, but years after year, I found out I was still nowhere close to “changing the world”, I was consumed by short-term goals (passively took the medical classes I was supposed to take, tried to beat more enemies and win the game, etc) and stopped devoting any real thought about how to build the future. Almost no one around me was talking about making/building something new, and I didn’t know how to turn what I know (mainly medicine and some math) into that either. Even the world itself seems to stop moving forward — — there are barely fundamentally new innovations like iPhone that users can feel.
And then, almost suddenly, AI entered the public consciousness. For the first time in years, I felt that technology had made a substantial leap forward. My earlier illusion that technological progress had stalled was a huge mistake — — it had never stopped, it simply did not become visible to the public in a linear way. Also around that time, I first learned about YC from YouTube. I had complex feelings about YC, sometimes I just didn’t believe whether those companies can really be useful to the world — it’s too far away from where I was living and too abstract to imagine, sometimes I just felt jealous of those people who can sit at the frontier of the technology and build things, but more times, it gave me hope, it was somehow the echo of the scene that I saw on iPhone’s launch in 2010.
In 2024, after one year’s being a video game live streamer, I knew it’s time to leave my hometown to begin my new venture. I have played E-Sports long enough that I knew it no longer had a hold on me. No matter how hard I played, it would never allow me to change the world through technology — and neither would becoming a doctor. The rapid growth of AI filled me with excitement for what it might make possible and also with a sense of loss that as an outsider, I could only watch it unfold without being able to make my contribution to it. I must go, I didn’t specify to go to YC, though, I just wanted to get into technology and pursue whatever seemed to hold the promise of a better future — like YC and iPhone’s launch, and that is where hope is.
I spent 2 months picking up my English, went to the U.S. and successfully made the transition from medicine to computer science. I still remember when I first opened the websites of American universities, I could barely understand the names of any of the majors listed there. Now, English has become the primary language as my source of information. I went from sitting alone in my home at midnight watching YC videos to working at a YC-funded company. I went from a place where everyone is seeking for stability and a secure life to a place where everyone is talking about building the future. More importantly, I’ve never felt so close to turning my own ideas into reality, and I am so much clearer about how to do this. I felt this is the right ChatGPT moment in my life — — the past 2 years has been an incredible miracle to me, and without doubt I can achieve more and overcome more difficulties in the future.
I have also made some mistakes, though. But overall I am so grateful that I am brave enough to move that step forward 2 years ago, and better things are yet to come.
Last modified on Aug 1, 2026