This year was my first SXSW excursion! I decided to not purchase tickets this year and just check it out on my own and see what it was all about. I am happy to report, there’s still plenty of things to do even without an official badge.

I started out at 800 Congress Ave at the Change Makers House with Rolling Stone & SHE Media. Change Makers featured discussion panels during the day and performances in the evenings. Rolling Stone & SHE Media joined SXSW to explore how people and businesses have the power to radically remake society and culture for the better through inspiration, innovation, and collaboration in their Change Makers series.

Sessions included a sit-down with Seven Seven Six Founder & Co-Founder and Former Executive Chairman of Reddit Alexis Ohanian, teachings from ‘happiness professor’ Head of Silliman College at Yale & Host of Happiness Lab Laurie Santos, and Best-Selling Author & New York Times Columnist David Brooks. Each evening, they closed out the night with outstanding musical performances curated by Rolling Stone, including famed Austin rock band Spoon and beloved rapper and performer T-Pain.

The speakers that I had the opportunity to sit in on were all very interesting! I didn’t get any good pictures during the talks, I was so focused on listening that I didn’t even think to snap any.

When I wasn’t at the Change Makers House, I was on Rainey Street. I just walked between the two, which was only about 20 minutes. Almost all of the Rainey bars had been ‘taken over’ and given a new name and theme by that sponsor. Amazon Prime, Dr. Martens, Bala, and more had a presence on Rainey! There were some locations you needed a badge or wristband, but a good amount were open to the public and even provided some free drink tickets!

All-in-all, I had a great time at my first SXSW and I hope to do more next year! Oh, and remember to take more photos. It gets hard when you’re having fun, though!