My Los Angeles
A city at that embraces the margins.
Creative individuals have a unique way of thinking. Does anyone remember the iconic "Think Different" marketing campaign by Apple, Inc. from the late 1990s? This campaign comes to mind when I envision my life in Los Angeles. When you think differently, you operate on the fringes of conventional society. You are exceptional. Los Angeles attracts exceptional individuals from around the globe, all seeking out an environment where thinking differently can help one thrive.
I have been numbed by the scenes of the fires in my beloved former city. I lived in Los Angeles for a decade, 20 years ago. I had a wonderful life there and think back on it affectionately.
Today I am a Dad and like most parents, I often find myself talking with my children about big emotions and how big emotions can affect our behavior and mood. I’ve felt many big emotions since I first heard about the fires in Los Angeles. The extent of the damage takes my breath away. Checking in on friends and even checking the status of some of my favorite places has become a daily practice.
Los Angeles can make you feel giddy with excitement every single day. That is how I felt most of the time I lived there, especially in those first few years. I was lucky to have a crew of college and new friends who became extended family. We were all from somewhere else. Each of us had a sense of adventure in our minds that the “boring” life we were expected to live “back home” would never satisfy. Young people who knew that fitting into our families' expectations for us back east would not be good enough. So, in Los Angeles, we were all living our lives at the margins, and together, we fit. Everyone had a story and was on an exciting journey. It didn’t matter how it turned out or what became of us; we were young and living boldly. That’s all that mattered.
Los Angeles is the place of my sexual awakening, the place where I came into my own and embraced my identity as a gay man. Looking back, I think how lucky I was to go to this place that I had never been, to be in an environment where I had no emotional ties to the person I was expected to be. I could find and become myself in Los Angeles while pursuing my dreams.
The world needs magical places like this. Places where dreamers can go, work hard, and grow into themselves. They are places of discovery and innovation, where the pursuit of dreams opens your eyes to all the wonder and magic in the world. Places where creative people from all walks of life can unite and share in an imaginative journey. Where dreams sometimes come true and mesmerizing discoveries exceed your expectations.
It is hard to see so much suffering and devastation. Harder to think about the impact of the fires on the future of this magnificent and wonderful place— but fires cannot burn away dreams or imagination. Fires cannot put you between the margins when you thrive outside of them.
It is not surprising that our fractured society politicizes and divides itself in response to this tragedy. Unremarkable people will always celebrate when the exceptional have a setback. After all Los Angeles is a place of magic where those with liberal views create the content consumed by everyone, including their weak, frightened, and pathetic detractors. We have witnessed this inhumane public response many times before, most recently following the assassination of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York. Like the shooting in New York and the fires in Los Angeles, too much of our public reaction highlights our nation's decline into a kind of inhumane viciousness.
It takes courage to pursue your dreams—courage that relatively few people possess. People who live at the margins either die there or embrace it. When you think differently, you are on your own path in life. Embracing life at the margins means following that path with courage and determination, regardless of what others think. If you are already outside the lines, why not make the most of it and live boldly?
Reflecting on the people I encountered in Los Angeles, I am struck by their vibrant spirits and passion for their work. They were individuals who pursued their dreams, embraced life, and lived boldly. Rather than conforming to others' expectations, they carved their paths and avoided fitting into predefined molds.
I will always side with the dreamers, visionaries, risk-takers, and individuals who dare to step out of their comfort zones to find and discover their authenticity.
Watching the coverage of the fires in Los Angeles has left me numb but also nostalgic for those years of my life that still exist in me.
I miss America. Or is it the version of America I told myself I lived in that I miss? It is my deepest hope that through these terrible events people can come together and unite. That unity is already evident in the stories of community coming out of Los Angeles. May the rest of the country follow its example.
That is the America I love.
The following non-profits are doing good work helping in Los Angeles: