A Wren Says

We are about a month on from this year’s SXSW. The 2025 event was my first experience at this inaccurately named conference. It was instead smorgasbord of everything possible. I went into it not knowing too much of what to expect and left with a lot of learning. I will have deeper reflections in the days to come, but here is my high level takeaway.

You can’t do it all.

You may want to. You may desperately want to, but you can’t. You can’t see every show, every, movie, and also see all the talks, get all of the free things, and take in the local flavor. You are only one (presumably) human. In fact, pushing yourself to do everything out of the sense that you should will give you a worse experience. Well, that’s my opinion, anyway. You would be underslept, rushing back and forth, and have no time for magic. You would do it all but enjoy none of it. I don’t want that for you.

Truthfully, this goes for life in general and not just SXSW. Pick a track, a schedule, or a path and go confidently down that route. Embrace want you find and change course if needed.