By Christmastime I will have lived in Los Angeles 6 months. And, I gotta say, I am really loving life here on the West Coast. Things haven't exactly gone as according to plan, but in the best way possible. God had way better plans for my life than I had for myself. (Isn't that typically the case?)
Moving to L.A. I thought my life would look pretty much like it did in Dallas, just in a different time zone...
-Interior Design classes at The Art Institute.
-Working part time at Anthropologie.
-Getting involved in a church.
-Helping out with RUF.
-Trying to get into Set Decorating.
-Hanging with friends (and pretty scared I wouldn't make any).
-As well as learning about Los Angeles and (hopefully) growing to love the City of Angels.
South view of the 405 from The Getty Museum with Westwood and Century City (I think) in the background.
Well, only about 3 1/2 of those things are still what my life looks like 6 months into living in L.A...
-I am now taking classes at UCLA in Interior Design.
-I don't work at Anthro anymore. Before I even moved to L.A. I prayed for a part time job in ministry while in school. Well, the Lord provided! Now I work for my church, Pacific Crossroads, getting new women at our Downtown service connected and also coaching Community Group leaders. I don't think if you asked me to create my perfect jobs in ministry more perfect ones could have been created.
A view from the balcony of St. John's Cathedral, where PCC meets in Downtown L.A., before last night's service.
And, I also babysit for my pastor's kids a couple days a week. They are the cutest, and the little boy, Jack, has quickly become my 2 year old boyfriend :)
-I am helping with RUF at UCLA and it has become one of the highlights of my life here in L.A. The college students have been so fun to get to know and I have just fallen in love with them.
Most of the girls at the RUF Christmas Party.
Plus, Joe and Tiffany, the Campus Minister and his wife, feel like family to me here. Tiffany has quickly become one of my greatest friends and I just can't imagine life here without her in it.
-Well, I would still love to be a Set Decorator, but am trying to look at that career as a marathon, not a sprint, where I just pursue that dream constantly and ignore the other parts of my life that build a life in L.A. So far I have met a bunch of people and am attending SDSA events when I can, and am just trying to figure out how the whole industry works and what the Lord is doing. I did get to see the set of How I Met Your Mother and just about died when I saw a sign that said "Ted Mosby - Architect"
It was, legend, wait for it, dary!
-I was so scared I wouldn't make friends and that it would be really lonely living in a city 3000 miles away from my family. But, so far, I have met some wonderful people! I feel like I have some real heart friends who love Jesus, talk about real things, are a lot of fun, and completely debunked my view of what people in L.A. are like. They also put up with me when I am stressed with school, trying to figure out what my life should look like, and the mess I can create while working on projects. The Lord has immensely blessed my heart with people to live life with here.
Some of my roommates and some friends picking out our Christmas tree. This is the only picture I have with friends from the entire 6 months I have lived in L.A. New Year's Resolution #1, take more pictures with the people I love.
-Well, I have definitely fallen in love with L.A. so far. Sure it is hard to run errands some days because parking and traffic can be a beast, rent can be astronomical, people can be flakey sometimes, and there aren't many preppy boys. But, all in all I love that I live in a city where television shows and movies are made, there isn't one style of dress, not everyone goes to church just because it is the acceptable and right thing to do, there are mountains and an ocean in my backyard, it is sunny most days of the year, there are so many parts of the city to explore that a Saturday afternoon never has to be boring, people are pursuing their dreams and it is amazing to watch God work in the midst of the journey of pursuing those dreams.
I have started fixing up my house, and it is slowly getting there. It is definitely a place though, that feels like home.
So, that is the almost 6 month update of life in L.A. It is a pretty great place to live. If you don't believe me, come for a visit! You can sleep on one of those green sofas. Thank you to everyone who has prayed, been a shoulder to cry on, gotten excited with me over new seasons of life, and everything else in between!
