Back in high school, I was known only by my appointed nickname: "Wheely Bag Girl."
As the only kid with a rolling backpack, I was made fun of mercilessly and spent a lot of time alone, re-alphabetizing my business card collection, or adding rubber bands to my basketball-sized ball.
I didn't mind. As a child of the early internet, being strange and peculiar was the standard. Then the web grew up, optimized itself, and asked us all to do the same. I listened. I got normal. And then it all changed again, this time with AI at the forefront. Today I run a company solo that would have required five humans in the pre-AI age. But the biggest surprise isn't that AI has made me more productive—it's that it's made me weird again.
AI has reintroduced a playful, experimental way of working. The 9-to-5 is becoming decoupled into a series of project-based interests with a focus on craft and passion. I'm building Bingo card apps for my friends and hyper-personalized playlists for my clients. I relaunched my blog as a "choose your own adventure" experience. It's not making me any money, but it's something I'd dreamed about doing for years.
Back in school, those quirky habits and extreme niches would get you pushed around the playground. But in a post-AGI world, they are the only things that keep you human.
