The RDA plenaries have always been an exciting and learning event and this time it was much special for me, not only because I was awarded the early career program scholarship but also my research was getting perfectly aligned with the various WGs and IGs and the adoptions of the outcomes were shaping the course of my research. This year the 5^th Plenary took place on the sunny southwestern coast of California, namely at San Diego. Personally, I think this was the best location for a plenary.