I Drank the Kool-Aid at SxSW London.

I came in skeptical. Art minded, curious, and quietly convinced that this was going to be a very expensive exercise in corporate optimism dressed up as culture. I was wrong. Not entirely - but wrong enough to say it out loud. Halfway through this conference I find myself shell shocked, converted, and reporting back that the world is, to quote Michelle Obama, looking “bloody brilliant”.

It all started with Michelle. I ran through the pouring rain to get there, navigated what felt like every possible snafu along the way, got pulled through the press line and somehow ended up with a seat close to the front. Standing there, soaked and slightly breathless, I understood what she meant when she said that life and these conversations of basic human connection are needed. The chaos, the rain, the mad dash - and then that moment of coming together with someone I felt like I already knew, speaking so casually about the importance of talking to your friends and family. Someone I so admire, and yet there she was, just having a chat. It was worth every drop of rain.

Then there was Ben. Ben from Ben & Jerry's, standing on a stage getting a seven minute standing ovation for talking about social justice and his fight to free his brand from the grip of a corporate giant. A genuine, principled human being getting that kind of reception in a room full of tech investors and media conglomerates. And then a few hours later a corporate overlord takes the same stage to talk about the benefits of Waymo and AI. The contrast sitting right next to each other, unresolved, honest. That is what SxSW does. It puts these conversations in the same room and lets you sit with that convergence of juxtaposition.

Marine Tanguy from MT Art Agency said something that has stayed with me - that creativity is resistance and art is a form of social activism. If WE choose to make it that. And in a festival that could so easily have felt like a glossy tech conference with a cultural veneer, that message landed hard.

Because here is what I was not expecting... The people. The ideas exchanged in corridors and panel rooms and over bad coffee. The feeling that human connection does truly exist in the digital space - that it is not lost, not flattened, not replaced. The support for podcasters, musicians, actors, the screenings, the panels, the sheer breadth of what is happening under one roof. It is overwhelmizng in the best possible way. And what does that say about me? Or society that it's us not trusting ourselves.

Are there still huge problems? Yes. The tickets are wildly expensive. There are lines and costs and certain conversations I don't agree with. And panels that I fundamentally don't agree with. But am I seeking out those panels anyway, sitting in rooms with people I disagree with, trying to see both sides? Also yes. That feels important.

I have three days left. My mind is both sharp and overwhelmed by the true breadth and beauty of what this world is becoming. I came in, drinking the Kool-Aid reluctantly. Now I am parched & pouring myself another glass -  not because of the free gifts or the cushy seats or the film screenings, but because of the people I have met here and the quiet, stubborn feeling that there is still hope for humanity after all.