4 (Serious) Things Los Angeles Taught Me

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1. Joy

My hair is happiest after being drenched by the ocean. My heart is full after watching the sunset with a glass of Pinot and an open notebook. My mind is most content when it’s engaged, thinking about the passions I have and how they can impact the world.

Bottom Line: Find the things that bring you joy and make time for them.

2. Passion

Passion is a currency, and it’s worth more than dollars. I’ve always known people to pursue money and success over passion. In Los Angeles I am inundated by the opposite and it’s one of the most refreshing things I have experienced. People talk about dreams, goals, and big ideas. They ask “What if?” and “Why not me?”  I’ve met dreamers and world changers everywhere, but they make up the very foundation of LA.

Thank you, Los Angeles, for reminding me that my passion is valuable and unique and that it should be nurtured.

3. Purpose

By exploring our passions we discover our purpose. And everyone desires to have a purpose. Some draw that purpose from their faith, others draw it from their careers, and some find it in their families. Los Angeles is a city of lost boys searching for the reason they exist. Is it to write the next screenplay that gets made into a major motion picture? Is it to write a song that will change hearts and give strength? Is it to live every day full of passion and joy so it splashes on people in close proximity?

Live every day and make every decision with your purpose in mind. 

Do everything on purpose.

4. People

It’s possible to sit in the middle of Times Square or at the corner of Hollywood and La Brea and feel completely alone. We can fill our hearts with the most amazing memories of exotic places and experiences, but the human heart was created with a desire to connect to people. Los Angeles drew my heart in from the first time I googled “Sunset blvd” but it wasn’t until I deeply knew the people that I realized just how much I belong. 

Sometimes we have to leave the things we love.

As I leave Los Angeles I realize the city filled holes in my heart I didn’t even know existed. Los Angeles reminded me that I have the choice.

So today I choose passion.
I choose purpose.
And I choose joy.