One of my first articles was about my initial apprehension of exploring Los Angeles when I first came to study here at UCLA. I had no idea how to navigate a city that was difficult to walk around, and as spread out as LA. My biggest fear was that I would spend my time here without having ever known my new home.
Well, I'm graduating soon and I can say that I have assuaged most of those fears. I've seen two major concerts at the Rose Bowl, I've hiked to the Hollywood sign, and I've driven through streets containing Bel-Air Hills homes while not in a "Stars Tours" Bus. However, what I haven't done yet involves moving away from iconic locations and tourist-y destinations.
I've not yet fully experienced the ins and outs of Los Angeles daily life—brunching, casual beach-going and eccentric thrift-shopping. I have just one month left before I graduate and I am determined to soak in the LA lifestyle in these last few weeks of being a Los Angeles resident.
As is pictured above, I've all-but-mastered the "wall-background photo" photoshoot and can seriously reference brunch as part of my weekend schedule. I have begun to take my coffee black and my toast with avocado (with a dash of pepper and salt). Even so, I am aspiring and conspiring to drag my roommates to more brunch spots and breakfast nooks so that I may claim that I have almost eaten my way through LA.
I wonder if it is still possible to learn to surf, but seeing that I swam in the Southern California ocean for the first time just a week ago, I believe that I can still squeeze that experience in, too. I want to walk down Melrose and peer through windows of boutiques whose socks I can only dream to afford.
In a way, I want this last month in Los Angeles to become something like a city staycation. I'll hopefully gain even more "firsts" than I already have while having lived here. Maybe, I'll even be compelled to come back for good.