Cheers to One Year

I have been thinking about this post for the better part of well, the last year, and now that it’s time to write it, I’m at my keyboard at a bit of a loss.

My “cheers to one year” is not only incredibly cliché, but is incredibly accurate. I moved here one year ago today, and yep you guessed it - my celebration is in reference to both living in LA and to my job, which LinkedIn conveniently reminded me that it’s time to celebrate.

I could sit here and write about what I’ve learned about LA, about myself, about working in this industry, and about how different of a person I am today than I was last May. And it’s not to say that I haven’t learned anything, or that I am the same person, because I’m definitely not. But nobody is after a year (at least I hope not.) And you could probably already guess everything that would be on that list of things I’ve learned. So what fun is reading something that you already know the ending to?

But to honor my one-year “anniversary,” I figured I had to at least write something. So here goes…

We’ll start with the living in LA anniversary, because this milestone technically happened first (by about 36 hours.)

I will say that although it’s only been a year, I feel like it’s worth celebrating. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my family. I tend to overlook the help and support I received by both my parents and my brother and now sister-in-law.

Living in my brother and sister-in-law’s place for $100/month for three months is not exactly sexy. In fact, it’s the opposite. And I almost regret that I even used that word in the same sentence as family members. But ya get the idea. The point is, you do what ya gotta do to make your dreams come true. And those dreams are much easier to achieve when you have the right people there to help you like I did.

But have my dreams come true? In a year?

Every now and then I break down and cry because LA can be so mean, and the people can be so tough. I wonder if it’s really a place that I belong in, and if it’s really worth my time and seriously high income tax. And I’ll never forget when my sister-in-law told me, “L.A. will kick you out if you’re not strong enough to handle it,” and she’s right.

I can’t even say how many times I’ve wanted to give up and move back to the Midwest where people are nice and I have real friends (and good friends at that) and have at least one paycheck’s worth of cash in my account at all times. How many times I’ve realized that I’m not a “SoCal girl,” and I don’t have the b*tchiness to keep up in this cutthroat world. How many times I’ve questioned if advertising is really even for me.

Which brings me to my next point: work. Ironically, on this one-year anniversary of being here, for the first time today I didn’t feel like the new kid anymore. It was another girl’s first day and she now sits directly across from me, which inherently positions me as her go-to for any and all new-kid-on-the-block questions. It feels good to have the answers and even better to retire that new kid feeling, even if it was a year in the making.

Looking back a year ago, am I where I thought I’d be by now? I’m not really sure. But I will say that regardless of where I’m at, I’m thankful that I’m here and thankful that I’m still going strong. More or less.

I think the biggest and greatest feeling after having been here for a year is that I can finally call LA my home. Even with as many moments of wanting to storm out of here with my middle finger in the air and never look back, this is my home and I love it. I love the energy, the weather, (obviously) the history. But above all, I love the challenge. There’s nothing like a giant wall you have to climb to appreciate that view below.

So in my one-year toast to myself, instead of boasting about how “LA didn’t kick me out,” and how “I’m strong enough to hold a job for year…” I’d rather just say thank you in a genuine way and not a “my life is so blessed” kind of way. (Sorry to those that speak like that, but for some reason saying ‘hashtag blessed’ at the end of a tweet just erks me.)

Thank you to those who have listened to me complain and vent about how difficult life can be out here. Thank you to those who have spent money to come and visit me, and more importantly, if you’re still reading this - thanks for coming along for the ride. Like I’ve been saying all along, I am overly-conscious about my writing and sometimes posting my words feels as though I’m running outside naked in front of hundreds of people. But at least now it’s starting to feel like I just forgot pants, and there's only a handful of people. 

So is this all that I cracked it out to be? (This being this post in celebration of my one-year mark) Not at all. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m rambling. But my fingers are tired and my 2:30 feeling is kicking in. (Cue the McDonald’s iced coffee commercial.)

So here’s to making it happen for a whole 365 days now. Here’s to not getting kicked out (yet) and here’s to another year of my California-cation.

Now, where’s the André?

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