Honestly, I also bought into the Silicon Valley religion. The myth of the young idealists who would use technology to better our lives. In retrospect, it was a huge lack of judgment.

you weren't alone, and initially, before the VCs and banking bros shoved the actual engineers and thinkers into the corner, it was filled with lots of cool promise but I greatly admire people who can admit when they're wrong, I think it's hugely undervalued as a trait in the U.S.