14 years ago, I moved to LA. My first LA home was my dorm room at Loyola Marymount. My parents and best friend drove down with me (my parents in one car and my best friend and I in the other). We carpooled for the 6 hour drive down and used walkie talkies to stay in communication (although I still wonder why we didn’t just use our cell phones). I remember that as soon as they drove away, they called me to make sure that I wasn’t crying because they left. But I was just too excited about the adventure that was ahead of me.
My college years weren’t the best, but I made them the best that I could. And that meant doing as much away from school as possible to experience all that I could in LA and work hard at my acting career from the moment I got here. I was lucky enough to have a car here from day 1, so I was always driving around and exploring the amazing city that I was living in.
My first 3.5 years in LA were college years. And after college I knew that I would stay here. LA felt like home from the day I moved here and it has never stopped feeling like that. Even when I went home for winter break my freshman year of college, my parents’ house didn’t feel like home anymore. Every place I’ve lived in LA has felt more and more like home to me. And the house I live in now is somewhere that I see myself living until I one day buy a place. I’ve always dreamed of living in an old studio bungalow (I love the idea of the history behind one of those bungalows) and that’s exactly where I live now.
I’ve managed to build a wonderful life for me here in LA. Yes, I wish that I was making more money and my acting career was fully supporting me. But I look at the riches of my life in other ways. I have great friends, a support system that I can count on at any time, and get to live my dream every day.
There have been some hardships too in those 14 years. Like I’ve mentioned, college wasn’t the best time for me. But I managed to get through it the best way I could. Some of the friendships I’ve lost have been very tough on me. Dealing with my mom’s cancer while I’m not near her wasn’t easy on me. And there have been times that my loneliness was horrible and all I wanted was to find a place to express myself without fear (which is what this blog has become for me).
I don’t take advantage of living is such an amazing city as often as I should. I’m so close to the beach and I haven’t really been at all this summer! I haven’t gone into the hills or to any amazing scenic viewpoints lately. And I haven’t been to any concerts at the Bowl this summer (I’m hoping to still make it to one eventually). But it’s nice to know that I have all those things here for me when I have the time and money to do it.
In my 14 years in LA I’ve gone to college, performed with improv troupes, studied with multiple acting coaches, held a couple of “real” jobs, held dozens (if not hundreds) of day jobs, made lots of friends, lost a couple of friends, attended red carpet events, had lots of acting jobs, gone to Disneyland more than I could have dreamed of, and had so many other amazing adventures! I’m not sure I could have asked for more in my life.
Now I’m wondering what year 15 will be for me. I’m in a very different place in my life than I was in the past and feel like this is going to be a wonderful year for me. I have such a positive mindset on where I am in my life and I no longer have fears about where I am not. I feel like that really is going to help make this year the best year I’ve had so far!
Soon, I’ll be coming up to where I will have live in LA for a majority of my life. It’s so crazy to think that my entire adult life has been spent in a city that I spent my entire childhood dreaming about.
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