Fantasies and realities

Finally, ready to be caught up in my posts.

Has it really been only three days? It seems like so much has happened. I've attended all four of my classes between yesterday and today, and, as expected, I really have nothing to worry about. Thank god, one less thing to trip my wanna-be perfect California experience.

In recent news, I am coming to terms with the whole dorm thing. While I still don't like it, I can't help but think to myself, where else would I live? Its not easy to get a four month lease for a place in Minneapolis, and I'd guess it would be just as hard here, and I wouldn't even know where to start looking. And how would I to get to campus without a car? The public transportation here seems to be awful (more on this when I actually try it out for the first time, which will hopefully be later this week, but most likely next week). These may just be fluffy excuses to make me feel better about this lame situation, but hey. At least I'm not in self-pity mode any more.

These past couple days have also come with some enlightening, albeit slightly disappointing, realizations. I feel like my priorities have shifted a lot. Before coming out here, I wanted to be in the thick of things. I wanted to be walking around down Sunset Strip (I'm really just name-dropping here, I have almost no idea what that is), shopping, seeing people and being seen. I wanted to hang out at the beach for the first time and explore places I've never been. I wanted to meet amazing people and become a part of LA culture, even just for a few months. And I do still want all these things. I want the excitement and the adventure. But I've realized that maybe this isn't what this experience was supposed to be for me. Maybe ending up in some little suburb in the valley was what I really need to get focused on school; to figure out what I want to do with my life when the last eight months of my college career are up and I'm faced with choosing a profession. I'm not completely discarding my dream of living the LA socialite life, I'm just saying maybe this is supposed to be more.

Yesterday, one of my roommates said something that really struck home with me. She told me "Everyone seems to come to LA thinking its going to be how it is in the movies. Its really not. Its ghetto and we don't have anything to do besides hang out. Its boring here."

Now I'm not going to say that I thought this would be just like the movies. But I also don't want to lie to you; I'm guilty of fantasizing about VIP parties and making friends who own convertibles and staying up all night to watch the sunrise on a beach. And I'm not saying any of those things are not going to happen. I just have to remember that LA really is like any other place, and a place is really what you make of it.

Friends, I have a lot of work to do.