"What's Next?"

So, I’m leaving Los Angeles.

I don’t know if text-on-a-page can properly convey how terrifying that is. I was born in Anaheim, and raised in Monterey Park and then Laguna Niguel (right outside of Laguna Beach). Then, I moved out here to attend USC, and I’ve been an Angeleno for (oh my God) nearly 7 years. I live about 10 minutes from the Los Angeles house my mom immigrated to in (now) Historic Filipinotown, and work about 15 from where my dad grew up in the SGV/East LA area.

I didn’t see snow until I was 20. I am more comfortable in a car blazing down the freeway (or sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic) than I am an in, say, a train. I spent summers on beaches and at Disneyland. I’m about as Southern Californian as you can get, and Los Angeles has run in my veins since birth

So, as hyped as I am about the concept of adventuring to new, even-beachier places, I am also a little terrified sometimes. I’ve come to realize that some of the things I love just won’t be in my life anymore, and that it’s time to enjoy those things while I still can enjoy them. A fantastic person I know is making an equally long journey across the country (to much colder climes), and we’ve been talking a little about “The Bucket List.” 

I’ve never loved this concept. I always wondered if experiences could be quantified like that, as “the last time” to create memories. Now that I’m actually faced with the concept of leaving somewhere, though, I find myself desperately clinging to the concept as a way to try and ensure I leave with no regrets. So, after a little bit of thought (and some help), here’s the first working draft. Please, if you have anything to add, let me know!

1. Hike in Malibu and to the Hollywood sign (crazy, but I’ve never done it!)
2. Eat at about a million restaurants (Blair’s, Black Hogg, all the Mexican food I love, In N’ Out, Tommy’s, etc)
3. The Santa Monica Pier (esp. the Ferris Wheel)
4. Art and History: The Getty (ridiculous, but I’ve never been), Annenberg Space for Photography, Natural History Museum
5. Disneyland
6. The Edison, The Standard, and some other quintessentially “LA” bars.
7. Quite a few plays (Waiting for Godot, Spring Awakening)
8. See something at Hollywood Cemetery, preferably Citizen Twain
9. Enjoy some LA Salsa Dancing before I have to go discover a new scene in Hawai’i
10. Visit fave ANHS teachers, inform them of life updates and say “Thank you.”
11. As much running in the LA-Places I love and that formed me as a runner (Griffith, Marina Del Rey to Hermosa, Silverlake Reservoir) 
12. Drive Mulholland Dr.
13. Watch a sunset (or even a sunrise!) from a skyscraper (plenty of beach ones where I’m going).
14. Pedal Boat in Echo Park
15. Sports games— preferably baseball, but maybe a basketball game too.

As you can see, a highly abbreviated list. Anything to add? Restaurants I must try? Places I must see? Trails I must run?! Let me know! What do you think I have to do before I leave Los Angeles?