“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”
I’m just going to dive right in and say that my first two weeks here were pretty much a super long vacation. After that, work became routine, responsibilities came flying back, and well… to be honest, blogging about it didn’t seem like much fun at the time. I had to let myself experience this life for a bit before sharing about it. That being said, I’ve hit the 2-month mark (and then some), so I figured it’s as good a time as any to start back up again. Oh, and the blogs after this will probably be more practical, like lifestyle things rather than me rambling on about my personal life.
Those who are close to me know that my last couple of years since graduating have been quite the roller coaster of unexpected lows and then sudden highs. When I made the decision to move out here I knew that there was no escaping that, but I also knew that this was a necessary change that could help guide me towards better things… even if that meant sacrificing the many wonderful things that I had to leave behind in Colorado.
Something I struggled with the last year was not having a constant routine. In general, each day was quite different from the other and my schedule was all over the place. For a while I thought it was pretty fun and fulfilling, but over time I came to realize that certain routines are necessary. I went through a drastic change in that I am now consistently waking up around 4 AM each day to start my job at 5:30. Never in a million years did I think I would do this to myself, and it is in no way easy for me, but I can definitely say that even just having a constant wake-up time has changed my life for the better. I find myself being more productive because I know my hours are limited, and my energy levels are consistent instead of all over the place which was so difficult to manage.
Funny enough, my job here is completely different from what I imagined it to be and it is the reason I came out here in the first place. I want to preface by saying that I love my job, but man… it is definitely an adjustment. I’ve worked in our fine-dining restaurant as the pantry cook for most of my first 6 weeks here, and now I am beginning to transition into the grill area which I am way more comfortable with…because breakfast. Duh. It’s my favorite meal by far to cook and eat. So despite the early hours and adjustments to the corporate work style, I am loving it at WB.
My weekends have been spent mainly exploring beaches, I’ve been pretty consistently going to Santa Monica because it’s close and Huntington because it has the best dog beach, but some other favorites have been Redondo, Malibu, Venice, and Manhattan beach. The ocean is like half the reason I moved to this state, so you bet I will go out of my way to get to it as much as possible and I look forward to more sandy adventures ahead.
A big theme since I have gotten here has been that change is fun, but change is for sure tough. In just 8 weeks I have managed to go through so many trials that have tested my patience and attitude in so many ways. For one, on my very first day in L.A. I hit a parked car, and until just today I was dealing with insurance and countless phone calls just because of one tiny scrape on someone’s rental car (damn you, integrity). Another day, I was driving home from work and a bus cut me off causing my side mirror to pop out (I was so over the exhaustion from that day that I just kept driving and duct taped it later). Then, my battery died. Two different times. On top of the auto issues, I accidentally hired the most irresponsible dog sitter ever and thought for about 5 hours that Lucca had been stolen (those were fun 911 calls..). During my second week of work I threw my back out one day, mandolined my thumb (don’t ask), and have developed seasonal allergies that I somehow managed to dodge 23 years until now. There’s some other things that have happened but I think you get the picture. In hindsight, it’s actually been a pretty hilarious 2 months after reading that. But despite everything, those trials have remind me that change isn’t always going to be easy or smooth by any means, but that’s a big reason why these changes help us grow. Growth is vital for everyone, but especially for getting out of tough situations like the gloom that I kept falling into over the last couple of years.
There are so many reasons why change sucks. Your routine gets changed and your habits are broken, you have to constantly step outside of your comfort zone and take risks, you have to be ready for high stress…and most of all, experience pain. These fears are what cause most people to steer away from change, including myself at times. Something I’ve come to realize over my time here though is that the positive outcomes you can get out of change tends to override all of those difficulties. Now I’m not saying that always happens, but I think it’s definitely worth a shot when a good change presents itself. For me, all of those crappy situations I was put through in moving here were tough and at times brought doubt flooding to my head, but I’ve learned to prioritize gratitude and in doing that have been able to look at change in a very positive way….
My car has been through an annoying amount of issues since I’ve moved here, but my commute to work is only 15 minutes and I can drive to the beach whenever I want to now. That to me is worth a couple hundred in repairs.
Boarding Lucca when I’m out of town and paying for people to walk him while I am at work sucks. But he is the best companion for me and I definitely could not have been able to live alone without him.
Throwing out my back made work pretty much unbearable for 3 days. It made me doubt if I could handle the physical nature of this new job, but then I researched care for herniated discs and have now established a consistent yoga routine and 1) experienced no back pain for a month and 2) find myself getting stronger with this new routine
Living in a low-income city neighborhood has been an insane adjustment from my comfortable suburban lifestyle in Colorado. Street parking, stressful driving, loud neighbors, and construction have made me doubt choosing this area many times…but then I experience how amazing the food is here, how friendly my neighbors can be, how central I am to everything in L.A., and how I can afford to live here by myself and suddenly the downsides seem less noticeable as time goes on.
Moving away from Colorado meant not being able to drive a couple of hours to see my family. This one has been rough. But one great thing that came from my change is that my new schedule has made it so I can talk on the phone with people and catch up way more than I could before working nights and weekends. I have spoken to my parents, siblings, and friends more now than I did when I lived in Fort Collins. So, while it is definitely difficult that I can’t see them in person nearly as often now, the ability to catch up with them about our days rather than our weeks makes me so happy.
All in all I am very thankful for these changes here so far, but most of all I am thankful that I had the opportunity to move here in the first place because not a lot of people get chances like this.
I challenge you all to prioritize your gratitude, even if it means writing down jut a few a day. I promise you it makes a major positive difference in your life!
P.s…. I forgot to mention that I’m not longer on the air mattress anymore, I upgraded to a futon for those who were concerned 😉
LA Jenica 