I love going to school in Southern California. I love the
warm weather and eternal sunshine. I love the laid-back attitudes and casual
cool of the people there. I would have loved to live out my fantasy of spending
a SoCal summer chilling by the pool and soaking up the vitamin D. That was the
plan and my overactive imagination had idealized it to the point of
ridiculousness. Admittedly, I probably spent a little too much time fantasizing. As the summer drew closer, I realized I was going to have to trade in that California dream for one
last Seattle summer, which is honestly a pretty great trade off.
Now that I’m
back in the Northwest, I appreciate how good it is to be home and am becoming
more and more aware of the ways in which California just can’t compete. I
hadn’t fully realized what I was missing in LA and am frankly really happy to be home. Lately I've been thinking about
one major thing that you can’t find in the California desert: GREEN!
There’s a reason they call it the Emerald City and there is a reason Washington is the Evergreen State. Since I’ve been home, I am continually being shocked and amazed by the vibrancy and vitality of the wildlife here. Things grow here. I had forgotten how beautiful and incredible that process could be. The wildlife thrives here and runs wild if you let it. Even in the middle of a city, the green is everywhere; peeking out of cracks in the sidewalk and curling around fenceposts. It's as if the surrounding nature is always sneaking in to the urban everyday, reminding us of the vast landscape waiting just beyond the city limits. It’s humbling and inspiring and is one huge reason why I’m happy to be home. I love California, but I missed the green.
There’s a reason they call it the Emerald City and there is a reason Washington is the Evergreen State. Since I’ve been home, I am continually being shocked and amazed by the vibrancy and vitality of the wildlife here. Things grow here. I had forgotten how beautiful and incredible that process could be. The wildlife thrives here and runs wild if you let it. Even in the middle of a city, the green is everywhere; peeking out of cracks in the sidewalk and curling around fenceposts. It's as if the surrounding nature is always sneaking in to the urban everyday, reminding us of the vast landscape waiting just beyond the city limits. It’s humbling and inspiring and is one huge reason why I’m happy to be home. I love California, but I missed the green.
