hollywood hills.

if you guys have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that i love my little home in LA. when i first moved down here a couple years ago, though, i was a bit more hesitant to enjoy the smoggy place that's home to movie stars, high taxes, and sunny days galore. honestly? i'll always be a san francisco girl at heart. you can't get past the nostalgia of childhood, and the sweet memories i have there are priceless.

but.

that doesn't mean LA hasn't squeezed it's way into my prejudiced heart. i'm really struggling with the idea of leaving...and it's hard to think that i won't be able to pop down sunset blvd whenever i want to.

i love the hollywood hills and mulholland drive, brentwood and tiny coffee shops and adventures with the crazies on the streets. i love driving down hollywood blvd late at night and looking at the lights and laughing with friends. i've gotten stuck in oscar traffic and visited studios and film sets. i've spent the morning in hollywood, the afternoon on the beach and the night in downtown, run into celebrities and driven a stick shift up hills that rival my city by the bay.

i laugh at tourists (sometimes) and know all the back roads. i've attended book signings by my favorite authors, been stuck on the renowned 405 freeway for hours and can recite hollywood trivia with the best of them. this is my home. yeah, you can criticize california for our ridiculous amount of debt and crazy-daisy politics that keep us bound to high taxes and expensive living.

but.

it's in LA that i've really bolstered my love of writing, where i met people that had a sweet bit of faith, and told me it was possible. newfound friends/professors encouraged me in the smallest ways, and people here work hard.

you come to LA with a dream...mine was to be a writer. to gain experience and find a story to write. in a place that's made up of artists, it's not difficult to find inspiration. i came to LA with a dream (like here and here), and with a couple rejection letters, sturdy criticism and the hardness for heated debate, it's well on it's way. this is a city of dreamers, and you can't get out untouched.

i'm leaving, but maybe you aren't. and all i have to say to you?
welcome to hollywood. what's your dream?

{drivin' the back roads}

{fall}

{my pretty best friend on our favorite route in the hills}

{hollywood hills}