My Journey to Los Angeles

Boy, oh, boy guys. Where do I even begin? When looking for pictures to post for this story, it took me back to the day I first came out here as an adult - June 9th, 2014. This is about to get really personal, so hold onto your horses kids. 

This new chapter of my life began less than a month after my Grandma Donna died. She was the woman my brothers and I spent almost every day after school with for twelve years. My grandma was the light of our lives and the backbone to our family. Losing her has probably been the most difficult thing I've ever gone through; but if she didn't teach me to see the light in even the darkest of situations - I may have never come to Los Angeles. That leads me to say, everything happens for a reason, and my grandma's passing in a way was her giving me permission and the golden ticket to start the most rigorous, defying, and most rewarding chapter of my life so far. 
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Okay, so that may have been just a smidge dramatic (this is theattreee after all) but hey, moving to Los Angeles alone and at nineteen is no joke.  Going from Rio, a place of 938 people to one of the most populated cities in the world that’s 4,000 times its size – yeah. Woah. You can bet your sweet cheeks I haven’t seen a cow in sight, yet.

Not to mention, my family was 2,000 miles away, I was gambling my education from one of the top universities on the globe in a degree that could land me hundreds of jobs to be a part of the inaugural class at a college that hadn’t even been accredited yet, anndddd I had little to no experience in film (except that I had learned at Relativity Workshops, which is really where this story begins, but I’ll leave that for another time to leave you intrigued) ….any who, back to having absolutely no history in film AND I WAS GOING TO FILM SCHOOL!!! Holy toast, what a risk. But fear not my dear friends. I’ve made it through. I’m alive and well, and must say – I’ve come a long way.

I’ve had lies told to my face on a daily basis,  been cheated out of deals and scammed, was almost expelled from school because someone didn’t want to take responsibility for their actions, I’ve been to the emergency room three times now with no one by my side,  I’ve walked through skid-row almost every day on my way to school and have had reality hit me like a lighting bolt with some of the things I’ve seen happen right outside my front door, but….I’ve also created some pretty fudging cool films, have met some absolutely amazing people and lifelong friends (I’m actually texting them all right now to say hi), have had insane memories and opportunities that on any bad day, I would never trade anything for.
 
The amount I’ve learned by living out here in these young years of my life is absolutely priceless, and though it’s not always the divine place everyone imagines Los Angeles to be, it’s a world of its own compared to anywhere I’ve ever been, and this crazy place filled with discovery, superficiality, glamour, and a rawness you can’t believe, is the place I call a home for this chapter of my life.
 
And furthermore in making this blog post far too long for it’s own good, from a small-town Wisconsin girl, this is what I’ve learned in short (haha funny – I never make anything short) about life and living in the City of Angels:

1. There is a place for everyone to belong.
   • There are millions of people out here who belong to an infinite amount of communities. Whether it be political, sexual, religious, sports, Beenie Babies, or Harry Potter - you will find your people if you seek them out, and you will find a place to make you feel like you belong. 
2. Opportunity is endless. If you can dream it – you can do it (or try it) here.
   1. If you're an artist especially, you can try any platform of dance, singing, acting, modeling - all the like by simply signing up (but pay attention to the fine print of course) for any classes, casting calls, workshops, panels, or discussions. It's amazing. 
3. It’s especially hard to find true friends and genuine people – but when you do, hold on to them.
   1. You'll meet a lot out of people out here who call you a friend - but most of the time when they contact you, it's for something that they want or need you to do compared to just wanting to have a nice conversation and spend time with you. Most of the time conversation is shallow, people superficial, and reliability on anyone is almost non-existent. You will find one or two people along the way who will defy those tropes though - hold onto those people with everything you have. 
4.  You grow so much faster when you face the realities of life outside your comfort zone and take responsibility for your actions. 
   1. Once you begin to open your eyes to all of the truths setting in around you - whether it be the homeless population out here, the poverty, the crime, or things like relationships with people, how the business out here works, paying your rent, utilities, buying your own groceries, etc.  - when you're used to having a schedule set for you and are forced to structure your life - it helps you realize what you need to do to survive and taking responsibility for your actions just makes you that much more fulfilled. 
5. You understand there is so much more to life than being what someone else expects you to be and that having a purpose beyond yourself is more fulfilling than fame could ever be.
   1. Through trying to look the part, type-casting yourself, faking it until you make it or completely changing who you are to appease someone else's tastes is just ludicrous. Depending on anyone else but yourself for your own success will lead you down some dark rabbit holes (though rabbits are cute [ like the perception of fame]) - find why you are put on this Earth, pay attention to what you love, and find a way to combine the two to make a living off of. This is your life - make your own rules. 
6. The city and its history is absolutely fascinating. 
   1. Seriously. Through Old Hollywood Glamour, to the frontier, the mafia, etc. Whoa. So cool. Visit as many places and museums possible - and be sure to ask those who work or live there if there is any history to the buildings, neighborhoods - etc. Chances are you'll get a life altering story (that you could just so possibly write a story or create something about or from).
7. There is no cap to the places you can discover.
   1. Bars. Coffee shops. Events. Restaurants. Clubs. Markets. Galleries. Art. Experiences. Museums. Tours. National Landmarks. Forests. Hiking Trails. Wineries. Beaches. Yikes...the list goes on and on, and some things I just don't even know how to describe that you could find or simply walk-in on that are incredible. Everywhere you go will have so much personality and you'll just want to experience everything and everywhere you can without even knowing if it exists or not. . 
8. You can make Los Angeles more like home if you look in the right places. 
   1. Whether its watching your favorite sports teams with people who share your affinity for the Packers at a designated bar for your team, finding a knitting group or book club via Meetup, or even looking up groups of people from the place you hail from - whatever reminds you most of home - look it up on the internet or social media platforms - chances are someone else is looking for it too. 
9. The weather definitely distorts your sense of time.
   1. When it's sunny without a cloud in the sky and the temperature is in the low eighties 95% of the year, it's hard to tell whether it's summer, fall, winter, or spring - especially when you come from a place with seasons. Therefore it is so easy for the year to pass by so much faster and give you the kind of perspective of a Groundhog Day like scenario where you feel like you're stuck in the same day and time for as long as you're out here. It catches up to you a bit and puts you in a different headspace. 
10. No matter what, treat everyone you meet with love and respect.
    1. ​Just like you read and hear all of the time - you never know who you'll meet or what people are going through. Be the reason that someone smiles and give them a reason to remember you in a positive way. Chances are people out here aren't used to people being kind, genuine, or caring - be that person for them. Life is too short to be mean, negative, and disrespectful. It's pointless and exhausting. 
11. Everything is expensive. Spend wisely and responsibly. 
    1. ​ The proof is in the pudding. You know what you do and don't make. Invest wisely. 
12. There will be some perceivably scary people you will come across - don't pay attention, don't act afraid, don't say anything - just carry on, but be aware.  AND STAY IN POPULATED AREAS NO MATTER WHAT. 
    1. ​There are people out here on the streets sometimes who either yell, talk to themselves, lurk and brood, or the like. They may even talk to or look at you specifically. Don't pay attention, don't be disrespectful or antagonizing, just walk on by - chances are you're more aware, coherent, and would be able to protect yourself and run if anything did happen. 
13. Don't let the relationships you value slip away. 
    1. Whether they're friends or family back home, your roommate, or the person you met the first day you arrived in LA - stay in touch with anyone who has showed that they care about you and show them the same and tell them you care about them. They're rare, and it's better to have them be as close as possible in any way when they are physically miles away. 
14. Always be yourself.
    1. Simply - it's better to be hated than loved for what you're not. 
15. Be open minded - it'll get you a lot further. 
16. Be observant, there is always beauty in everything you see. 
17. Make sure to get out of the city or into nature at least once a week. 
18. Stay positive and focus on being happy. 

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By: Mary Gabrielle Strause
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