Hitting the Road

I am about to go into my last week of living in LA. On November 29, I hit the road and head for the Windy City. It's a weird place to be right now. I feel like I'm in a suspended state of living - sort of saying a slow goodbye to the place I've come to love and hate over the past four years. I go to my normal spots - my favorite Saturday morning cafe, the Sunday morning farmer's market, Santa Monica - and I miss these places before I've even left. I think about the ocean, which I haven't gone to frequently enough, and the mountains, which I haven't gone to recently. One of the best things about LA is the proximity to these contradictions of geography. I've loved the hiking trails I've found and the sunsets over the water. I will miss the temperate weather and the palm trees lining the streets. I'll miss knowing I could take off for Vegas at the drop of a hat, even though I haven't really ever done so. I'll miss my boss, who's been amazing to me. And I'll miss the friends who have been there when I needed them.

But there are other things. I will not miss the traffic. I will not miss the constant barrage of celebrity "news." I won't miss the lack of seasons. I won't miss the way this city changes people you thought you knew. How it makes everyone focus so much on their own needs that they no longer have the time or patience to see anyone else's. I won't miss the obscene wealth that butts up against extreme poverty. And the blindness that those with money seem to apply where those less fortunate are concerned. I won't miss the way so many people here stalk around with such a sense of self-entitlement. I won't miss the side of my industry that teaches the only way to get ahead is to put everyone else down. I won't miss the way I can be crowded by people and still feel the most intense loneliness.

I'm holding on to the promise of a new start in a new place. I'm clinging to the knowledge that I am running to something, not away from something. I'm running to a city that loves theater. I'm running to a place where I have friends and family who are excited for me to be close. I'm hopefully running towards a decrease in living expenses. And an increase in social endeavors. It's bittersweet now, but I'm holding fast to the instinct that this is where my path goes next. And that good things are waiting for me, if I can just avoid any blizzards on moving day.

:) 

Comments

  1. AlisonNovember 20, 2011 at 6:38 PM

    Midwest - 1 billion, LA - 1/2 a point for Santa Monica and Menchi's. YEAH!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AlisonNovember 20, 2011 at 6:39 PM

    and now you have to change the 'about you' part of your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bethany AnneJanuary 3, 2012 at 6:51 AM

    SO glad you're here!

    ReplyDelete

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