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Felicia Pride

Articles

How to Introduce a Little SXSW Into Your Life Every Day

Felicia Pride finally goes to SXSW and looses it...in the best way. Here's how to metaphorically loose your s@%t SXSW every day.

For the last few years, I’ve wanted to attend SXSW, the Austin-based music, film, and interactive festival. Each year, however, I’ve found convenient excuses for staying home: It’s expensive (okay, there is some truth in this); I can’t take that many days off from my business; I can’t guarantee that it will be worth it.

This year started out much the same. I wanted to go, but predetermined that it would be too costly and the timing wasn’t great. But that gnawing feeling—you know, the one that says if you don’t go you’ll seriously regret it—kept haunting me. It didn’t help that everywhere I turned—on the internet, in meetings, in magazines—people were talking about it.

One day, only a few weeks before the festival, I gave in to my inner voice. “I’m going,” I declared aloud to myself (for dramatic effect). It’s amazing what happens when you share a desire. Within three days, I had booked a flight, and found both a place to stay and a registration badge via Facebook.

I read a few articles about surviving SXSW and the best piece of advice I learned was to go with the flow. I arrived in Austin with that nugget in the back of my mind. As a result of going with the flow, I:





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