IF YOU SPIT ON LOS ANGELES, YOU'RE SPITTING ON YOUR DREAMS
Dear Diary,
On a fun-filled vacation to sunny Palm Springs with gal pals this past weekend, I knew there was bound to be deep conversations and incredible awakenings— that’s just how we roll. Over cocktails (actually, rose wine) and beautiful photography spreads found on the pages of the second issue of Porter magazine, I started to think about this teeny-tiny town that I call home—Los Angeles. I began analyzing what Los Angeles truly represents when something fascinating dawned on me.
Over the course of 18 months in business, Holistic Fashionista has taken some twists and turns, and throughout it all, it continues to strengthen and deepen like the ocean’s strong current; it might beat you up and tear up the soles of your feet on reef beneath you, but you take the beating anyway— the benefits are far too rich and healing.
“In a city where rules don’t apply and weirdness is totally accepted perhaps even praised, a big lightbulb in my head shined so bright I decided to let my mind wander into the depths that is Lala-land.”
In a city where rules don’t apply and weirdness is totally accepted perhaps even praised, a big lightbulb in my head shined so bright I decided to let my mind wander into the depths that is Lala-land. What is this place called Los Angeles and what does it have to do with Holistic Fashionista? It was a question I needed answered.
Los Angeles The City of Dreams
The first and most obvious is I live in Los Angeles; it is where Holistic Fashionista was born. I came to Los Angeles for the sunshine and to pursue a dream— but it spit on me and taught me some valuable lessons, lessons I am forever grateful for. But like the ocean’s strong current and waves that rip your bathing suit top off leaving you exposed, it just kept giving back and promising me more than meets the eye.
What started out as a window of opportunity and an open door to pursue my wildest passions, it is also became a staircase that I kept me climbing just like the dirt path that lead me to the Greek in Griffith Park where I was greeted by a community of creative souls who too had the balls to jump in their car, get their butt on a plane, and go after their dreams in this crazy city called Los Angeles.
But dream-pursuing doesn’t come without its bruises; it also doesn’t come without important life lessons in business. With approximately 4 million people wandering the streets of the Los Angeles that sure is a lot of dreams floating around in the atmosphere (and huge community of people who understand what you’re going through). Even if some are just in the preliminary stages of REM, daydreaming counts in my book. Aspiring for anything always starts with a vision and a dream.
One of Holistic Fashionista greatest accomplishments is the people in our community. These over-achievers with dreams so big they’ll have to grow in to, work incredibly hard to bring their vision to fruition and that’s a mandatory ingredient for true success. You need to surround yourself with others who get you, who cheer you on, who help pick you up when the roses welt and the dream appears to be anything but a joy ride at Barcade—same is true of Los Angeles.
“After moving from the dreary and cold San Francisco where my body was desperately craving an overdose of vitamin D, Los Angeles was a place that taught me about health. ”
The more Los Angeles became a friend, the more the layers of its soul were revealed, and what I discovered through me for a loop, but I’m down to make new friends and go on coffee dates with virtual Facebook friends. After moving from the dreary and cold San Francisco where my body was desperately craving an overdose of vitamin D, Los Angeles was a place that taught me about health. Your days are so fast here (or slow depending on the grueling traffic) that if you forget about your health, panic and anxiety attacks will surface; if you're unlucky you'll get a whole bunch of health issues all at once. I know, because it happened to me; you’re bound to get a little granola.
New Yorkers might despise our organic decaf cappuccinos dolloped in hemp milk with xylitol as our sugar substitute behaviors, but what they might fail to understand is we HAVE to be this way. Whether we are talking about our spiritual awakenings, gorging ourselves in overpriced vegan cuisine at Real Food Daily or attending yoga in Silverlake looking babelicious-as-hell far too frequently, what we are really trying to do is feed our soul the nourishment we need to keep going! Do you even understand what type of person it takes to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and die trying to fulfill your creative endeavors!? A strong one. Correction. A fucking ridiculously strong person. And with a whopping 4 million entrepreneurial people trying to get their dreams to make them a buck or two, there’s bound to be rejection, bankruptcy, credit card debt, failed relationships, and countless odd jobs in your future. Without eating healthy and taking good care of yourself, negativity is sure to set in and that’s no highway to success; I don't care how hard you work!
So how is Los Angeles any different than a creative entrepreneur? It isn't. Let me break it down.
1) Los Angeles is a creative population of artists, actors, models, designers, writers, entrepreneurs, and a multitude of individuals who came here with a dream.
And they work hard to make their dreams come true.
2) Los Angeles will spit you out if you give up on your dream!
She’ll make sure to punish you and discipline you when you get a nutty idea that moving back to your hometown is even remotely a good idea. When the going gets tough, Los Angeles will make it harder for you—she wants to see how dedicated you really are!
3) Los Angeles is a talented community of people struggling to get by gently infused with a those who finally got their big break.
You have friends who have made it and those who are still trying to make shit happen. Segregation is foolish and blocks creativity. We embrace all walks of life.
4) Los Angeles is a melting pot of Gucci handbags mixed with people who don’t give a shit!
If you want to hit Whole Foods in your pajamas without makeup and big sunnies to hide the bags under your eyes from a night of crying because you fell in love with a narcissist, so be it. We won’t judge you. Plus, you look normal compared to the homeless-looking guy who’s driving a beamer.
5) Los Angeles isn’t like any other city in the world, and you know what? It isn’t trying to be the next New York, Paris, London, or any other hippified city in the world.
If Los Angeles were a person, she would be an individual. She’d do as she pleases, wear what she wants, and live in her own little universe of creativity, even if that means she lives in a 400 square foot studio in trendy Los Feliz that nearly burned down in flames-- at least she's got rent control. Whether she’s looking to find herself, investors for her business, or a die-hard tribe of kismet clients who were born to buy what she was born to create, Los Angeles is a chick who is going to do it her way— and she’ll give you the birdie if you disrupt her “I am Grateful” affirmations over that Macrobiotic bowl with sea vegetables at Cafe Gratitude; even if she thinks it’s cheesy too, at least it got her thinking about the infinite possibilities.
Los Angeles isn’t just a place; it’s a lifestyle and you don’t need to move here to reap it’s insane lessons in entrepreneurship or cozy up with a dose of wheatgrass to cleanse your blood. What you can learn from Los Angeles is how to introduce the principles and this way of life into your business so you can start playing by your own rules. Here at Holistic Fashionista we are dedicated to helping you: embrace your weirdness, celebrate your individuality, showcase your work, get involved with community of business trendsetters who understand the entrepreneur's journey, feel supported all the way to the top whatever that may look like for you, and use the characteristics of Los Angeles as a muse to inspire your creativity.
After all, when push comes to shove, you’ll see who’s left standing. It won’t be the copycats, it won’t be those who were deterred by the crashing waves, it will be the ones who believed in the beauty of their dreams, took the time to care for their mind, body, and spirit, and those who jumped off the cliff and took the risk! Los Angeles is different and that’s what makes her so cool; she’s a heroine in her own right and she’s not going anywhere but up.
Til Next Time.
Angel
Photo: Pinterest