Okay.
Its October.
Someone, it would appear, is playing a cruel joke in which 12 months have gone so fast they have in fact, disappeared.
It is my last month in California. And though it really is horrid to think about leaving..
I have lived. I mean really, truly l i v e d. Like only a twenty three year old can (and should).
I have partied, and traveled, and danced, and learned, and road tripped, and laughed and snorkeled and surfed and loved and camped and hiked and snowboarded and felt and cried and lived.
This year has taught me how life can be, how I want life to be.
It has not been a year without trial or difficulty, I've faced some of my hardest here in CA. And inevitably, there will be more where that came from. But I think I've grown more this year than any other point in my life. And turns out, San Francisco bay is a pretty fantastic place to deal with hard times. How long can one really dwell on sadness when living a drive away from some of the most beautiful places America (if not the world) has to offer.
I have learned that Californians are some of the warmest, genuine, loving people, who actually care about each other. They really do! Each other as family, friends, but also each other as strangers on a bus, or fellow cyclists, or shoppers in Trader Joe's (love you long time TJ's).
I'm not sure I'll ever live in another place where strangers congratulate me on my form as I run, and encourage me to get to the next mile. Is this heaven?
But of course the people are real, there are real problems, issues, and this place isn't perfect. But I wouldn't love it as much if it were. I like the homeless men that initially unnerved me, with whom I now freely converse, I like the gritty neighborhoods and the hipsters and the hole in the wall restaurants where customer service is nonexistent but the fare is other-worldly. I like that people are constantly arguing about politics, neverendingly questioning the government and congress and those running the country. I like the vested interest. I like that people bond over discussing yoga (bikram, acroyoga, Ashtanga, Kundalini to name but a few) and that healthy living is eternally on trend. I like that at school I've never seen a Coke on the table, but a mason jar with dandelion floating around is quite normal. I like that I can look out the window and spot 3 Priuses (Prii?) on my side of the street alone.
I have learned that to be surrounded by people that love me, bickering and laughing about card games, in a cabin, in the middle of the rainy woods is pretty close to my personal heaven. I have learned that I need people, I feed off their energy and I really think that to belly laugh with a group of 4+ people is gorgeous and should be a form of practiced therapy (ooh incidentally, it is.. Therapeutic-Laughter).
I have also learned that I can be happy anywhere, and despite being in a place which has made that ridiculously easy, I know that wherever I end up next, for whichever length of time, I'll always have my memories!
So, roll on the next adventure.. Blighty, here I come
