I was frustrated while coming home from work tonight. I just accepted a promotion at work in a field I never saw myself working in. I should have left the office at 6, and I ended up leaving much later having me park my car at my apartment at 7.
I was hungry, I was tired and I was cold.
While waiting for the gate to open so I could park my car in the garage, I noticed a car right on my tail--hurried to park behind me. I sighed and muttered (as if they could hear me) to "get off my butt" and took my time pulling in. The car sped down and I noticed it's the bright red car that always parks next to me. It hasn't been parking there long, maybe a month or so.
The girl waved feverishly with a big smile as I shifted into park. I tried to manage a smile but groaned, this girl was way too happy to be excitedly waving to a complete stranger parking next to her.
I prepared myself for an overly joyous conversation that I figured was about to take place.
I took my time gathering my stuff and I noticed she slowly closed her door and practically waited for me to get out of my car.
Sure enough, she smiled again and said hello. I decided to put all my crap from the day behind me and smiled back.
"I'm Sarah," she put her hand out in front of me.
I partially laughed. "I'm Sarah, too, actually." She laughed and shook my hand, informing me she was Sarah with an "h" (a very common conversation I have with pretty much every Sara(h) I meet) from apartment number three.
I said I spelled my name the same way and we started the walk from the underground parking to our apartments above.
She just moved to Southern California one hundred percent by herself. She's looking for a change because she didn't like what she was doing back home in Alabama and decided it was now or never. She loves to write and has a passion for good music and positive people. She misses her family like crazy (her mailbox is overflowing with letters from home asking how she likes California and reminding her she can always retrace her steps) but she loves it. She loves it because it's different and crazy and adventurous and it makes her feel free.
Listening to her story I kept thinking, "God, she just sounds so familiar."
This girl is me, circa 2011. And listening to her story and hearing what she had to say was the reminder I completely needed today.
Had you knocked on the door of apartment 106 on Gramercy and 7th in Koreatown two summers ago, you would have found a girl with wide eyes and a smile for days. She was probably eating a cup of Ramen noodles and you would have found a stack of applications strewn across the desk. She was sleeping on the floor that belonged to some other girl and earned her stay by taking out the stranger's dog and paying a mere portion of the rent.
She would have told you she didn't know what she was looking for, but she knew she wanted change and she knew she wanted to be happy (just like this Sarah with an "h" explained to me earlier).
Putting aside the feelings of pure frustration I felt today, I can honestly say I've found that. No, I'm not in the field of work I always thought I would be--but it's new and it's change; all things new are a little bit scary at first.
Looking at the big picture? California has been everything I thought it'd be--it's different, crazy and adventurous and I know every second that I'm here I have never been more free before in my life.
So thanks, Sarah with an "h" from apartment number three. And welcome to Los Angeles, kid.
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