The Google campus looked like any other normal boring business building. But just before my disappointment settled in, a bright rainbow blur zoomed by. At first, I thought it was just my imagination but I saw another odd object tossed in the grass and one tied to a tree; there were racks of them all gathered on the campus. Each distinctly painted with the same shade of red, yellow, blue, and green: the Google bikes. 

I was in San Francisco touring Google with my fellow band students from San Dieguito Academy. We were in Northern California to perform in the Heritage Festival with over 1,400 other high school students.  While we were there, we had the opportunity to go behind the scenes at the Google campus. I’ll come forward and say that I personally was not excited for touring a nerd’s paradise but this wasn’t a normal tour… 

As the group was directed around a corner, strange silhouettes towered above me. These “creatures” had a distinct shape but each was painted to match a different sweet treat. The first was filled with jelly beans and another looked like a cupcake while one held a giant lollipop. These statues were all different life sized Androids designed to represent different updates named after desserts.  I was literally a kid in a candy store.  

On the way inside, I passed a Google car equipped with cameras.  This car is one of Google’s newest projects which they will use to map the streets through the driver’s eye. Once up some rickety stairs and through an unassuming door, I entered a Googler’s paradise: countless Android models were displayed on shelves, a color coordinated ball pit, a mini putting course, a hand drawn graph of Google’s success, strikingly designed furniture, four TV’s displaying a hyper detailed Google Maps program, a display of a Google bike, and so much more. I was simply baffled by the presentation.  

Our tour headed behind the scenes to a lounge area for the Google workers. There was an immense open skylight with fresh bamboo that ascended towards the ceiling where lights were strung across that rails; the design was elegant, modern, and homely all at once. Off in the corner was a “small” snack station (according to my guide), but it was far from measly. Every candy, brand of chips, fruits, and countless number of drinks were all stuffed into what seemed to be an infinite amount of drawers and refrigerators, and it was all up for grabs.  

After taking such an excessive amount of food that I probably should have been charged with stealing, I walked into a bathroom. I expected just the usual public lavatory, with semi-grimy toilets and a crooked mirror and missing paper towels, but I was dead wrong. I felt like a filthy maggot compared to the beauty of the immaculate bathroom. Simply too clean for a plain toilet, a heated throne graced this porcelain palace. 

Once I left the mysterious world of Google’s restroom, our tour guide started explaining what it’s like working for Google. He described all the luxurious perks he and other Google workers are adorned with including the free bike use, access to practically any food at any time, and the remarkable restrooms. He assured us that Google goes to great lengths to keep its workers’ motivation and creativity at its maximum level. This job isn’t only for “old white men who have no social skills.”  

I learned that Google’s main goal is to collect and organize, well, anything and everything. Google is not only a search engine but also a master at advertising. Google is studying each person and tries to present that person with advertising that would relate best to them. To do this, Google tracks peoples’ searches to find their interests and then present them with corresponding advertising.  

Despite controversy over privacy, Google has safeguarded all gathered information. Google battles against hackers and viruses everyday by trying to break their own code within the company. By constantly trying to hack themselves, Google developers find any weak spots and correct them. This foolproof process has made Google into an indestructible machine.  

With this nearly limitless power, Google has not only discovered more about the human race, but also how to prevent disasters. Just recently Google did an experiment to see if they could predict the future!  And yes, it turned out that they could, but probably not in the way that many people would think.  

It turns out that Google can predict where and when people will have the flu before any medical institution can. When a person is sick, they tend to look up certain things on Google, such as what the best medication is, whether they should stay home, etc.  It turns out that by tracking these specific types of searches, Google could predict and determine where the flu will start and how many people will have it. And this is only the beginning of Google’s influence on our world. 

And so the incredible tour ended and the speculation of my own journey began.  I was inspired to think of where my future job would land me: location, environment, co-workers.  If the Google campus is a reflection of the working ambience of tomorrow- creative, efficient, and absurdly successful- I’m all in.