So normally when I do my blog posts about SIGGRAPH I go through a rundown of all the awesome things that happened during the week.
This time I am going to do something a little different. Rather than talk about all the cool things I saw and did, I'm going to talk about the experience and what I learned this year. Because that is so much more important.
Most people who know me and know me well are aware that I am a stickler for organization and planning. I like to know exactly what is going to happen and when and where. But this year that all went out the window.
Of everything I had planned to do this year, only about 10% of it actually happened. Where as with year's past I did close to 90% of everything I had planned.
But that was not a bad thing. Because I got so much more out of just letting random things happen that I would have with the planning.
Everything is a learning experience in my eyes and this year I walked away from SIGGRAPH far more fulfilled than I did in 2010 and 2011. And it all mostly happened by chance and the unexpected. That is the real point.
What is great about SIGGRAPH is not the parties you went to or the talks you saw but the people. The friends you make and the bonds you form.
This year some of those bonds were tested, some were likely broken completely. While some grew stronger.
Some of the people I have met through SIGGRAPH may be lifelong friends. Other's may not even be there next year. Some may eventually fade as years pass. But this is how it goes.
This is what I learned this year. That nothing can be controlled. Life just has to happen and to let it happen as it is supposed to happen.
Forget all the planning, the fears of success or failure, the inhibitions, and just let go and let everything happen how it is meant to occur. Just say to hell with it and live life.
Because for all the things I planned to do this year, it is all the things I did not plan for, all the unexpected things that I will remember the most. Those are the stories I am going to tell until the day I am no longer here.
So that is how I feel at the end of this year's SIGGRAPH. This is what I will take away from it. The experience is what matters most. And this is why this has been the best SIGGRAPH I have attended so far.
And I can't wait to go back next year. Whether or not I return as a volunteer or an attendee is a decision I have not made yet. I will cross that bridge when I come to it. But the one thing I do know is I can't wait to see my friends again and see what experiences I will have next year. And the stories to tell when it is over.
That is what I miss the most. The experience of it all and my friends (new and old) who I can only hope will find their way back.
And to end with a quote from of my favorite films and books
"stop trying to control everything and just let go"
So until next year....
