Have you ever had an itch? An itch so bad that you would do whatever it took to get rid of it? Have you ever had a craving so severe you would drive all lengths just to satisfy that craving? Have you ever been in such a shit hole that you desperately search for any-way out?
I'm from Los Angeles, California. Born and Raised. Sometimes I don't know if this is a good thing or not. Sometimes yes, and sometimes... not so much. I've lived here all my life (okay, only 24 years...which is my whole life so far), and recently I've been getting more eager to leave. To get out of here. Let me correct that: to get the fuck out of here.
But why? You're so lucky to live in Los Angeles.
Some people see it that way and others don't (I'm one of those "others"...although not 100%). Los Angeles is a love-hate city. I love it (because the weather is bomb) and I hate it (traffic and the people here are shit--no offense to close friends). I've been going through the gunner. I've been on a roller coaster. I've been in and out of doctors offices. I've been in and out of my head. Sometimes I'm here and other days I believe my head hitchhiked and left the rest of me behind.
More like an irritating itch. Like a drag. Like a burn. Like... I don't know. Think of something thats really itchy, that kind of itch. Maybe like poision oak/ivy itchy. An itch so severe that I think I'm craving it. I'm craving to solve it.
I want to move. (I know..."not again") But yes, again. But this time, not anywhere close. I want to get the fuck out of LA. (Yes, it's so serious I had to bold that word). I'm not a fan of LA. Or maybe I'm not a fan of the way my story is going as I live here.
It's 10:41PM; January 17, 2015. A Saturday Night.
I'm sitting in front of my little portable heater, although now it's not feeling too hot. It's getting a little...cold. Why? Because I just realized I had the heat option on "Low," ah. That's much better.
What am I doing on a Saturday night?
Raving? Nope. Drinking? Nope. Smoking? Nope, although that would be nice. Watching a movie? Nope. Talking on the phone? Nope. Texting? Nope, my phone is dry like a desert. Crying? Surprisingly not. Sitting on my couch? Nope. Sitting on the floor? Yes. With a pillow on my lap? Yes. With my laptop on it? Yes. On Safari, the internet? Yes. With a bunch of different apartment tabs open in Seattle? Yes. Huntington Beach too? Yes. Places that aren't in Los Angeles County? Absolutely.
They say the past is in the past. Well, that's not for all cases. Sometimes I feel my past knocking on my door. It's not a very nice knock. It's more like an, "Open the door or else!" ... or else what? I don't know. You'll fuck up any other future plans that I have(d)? Absolutely. Thank you, past. Thank you for that. Thank you for the awful memories that I've tried so hard to escape from. Thank you for the awful truth that I was (for a while) living with success. Thank you. I appreciate that.
I'm ready. I'm one of those people that puts their mind to something and goes for it. How? Haven't figured it out that much. But I'm thinking about it. Seattle is lovely. But it rains. That's true. You'll be cold. I'll get used to it. You'll be whiter than Casper. I'm already there. You'll leave your friends behind. I want to start new. So, forget your friends? No, not forget them. I'll always have them. But, start over for myself. What does that mean? It means I find myself in a city where I'm not forced to be the person everybody else wants me to be. Thats what I mean.
Los Angeles is fabulous, don't get me wrong.
But at the same time, I feel like I'm being suffocated. I have to be who everyone wants me to be. I have to be the "Emily" I was in elementary school. I have to be the person that everyone expects of me. If I do anything outside of that, then something is wrong with me. Severely.
I'm a people pleaser. i do whatever it takes to make anyone smile, even if it includes putting myself on the line. I'll do it. But, you know what happens when you do that for so long? You forget your own opinion. Not even forget your own opinion...you don't have one anymore because you've based the last 24 years of your life living off of everybody elses.
2015, new year. It's still January. Mid January, to be precise.
I'm ready. I want to go. I love my apartment in Brentwood, California. It's nice, cozy, (a steal for the area I'm in), my first real "home" that I stayed in for longer than a year. **A year and a half now. But, I don't love myself. And that's starting to be a problem.
Sorry my people pleaser self.
Sorry, Emily. Whoever you are.
I know you want to please people. Do everything for people. But it's about time you do something for yourself