I'm the first person to receive Neuralink's brain-chip implant. Here's how it's helped me reconnect with the world.

• Noland Arbaugh is the first human to receive Neuralink's brain-chip implant.
• The 29-year-old quadriplegic man said it's helped him regain independence and reconnect socially.
• He spoke to Business Insider about how it's impacted his life since he got it inserted in January.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Noland Arbaugh, Neuralink's first human patient to receive its brain-chip implant. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I wasn't scared going into the surgery to get Neuralink's implant inserted in January.

I was at peace with it all; it had much to do with my faith in God. I knew that whatever was to come was God's plan for my life, and that really put me at ease.