Since my 3rd year at Cal I felt like I would never settle back in LA. It just wasn't in the equation; I felt like the Bay Area adopted me, showed me a new way and that LA didn't represent me anymore. I embraced trips home but not because I was back in LA but because I was with family. The region became defined by the people and not by the scene, culture and atmosphere. For some reason, I decided on one spot where I would not land.

Fast forward two years in Berkeley and two more in New York and my thoughts were not that different. This last trip changed something though. Maybe it was the rapid-fire succession of the cities that I blazed through (NYC, Oakland, LA, Vegas, LA, NYC). Maybe it was the company of my family and those who may as well be family. Maybe it was pent up longing for something more stable after a year that saw (and is seeing) remarkable turnover in friends in the Big Apple. Likely, it was all of these factors working alongside one another and compounding each other.

The end result was my best trip home. Better than my first time back to Burbank after a semester in Berkeley. Better than the rest that I earned after 4 hard fought years of college. Better than my first retreat from the city that never sleeps. While I didn't actually spend much time at home I stepped on my flight back knowing that when I come back to California I will not be limited by arbitrary lines of latitude and longitude that represent what I am. It is because of the people that I feel secure, content, belonging.