So it happened, it hit me. I'm officially no longer a teenager and I have to learn to adult. Part of me was hoping this day would never come and the other part is so unbelievably happy it did. This summer I had the most amazing pleasure of interning in the lovely Los Angeles, California where I was simultaneously terrified and mesmerized at least nine times a day.

My first day there I was a little off because I had a six hour drive by self, which caused for some major scream singing session, which in turn lead to the temporary demise of my vocal chords for a little while. Meeting everyone was a little difficult for the first time, it usually is where you sound like you smoke 10 packs a day, and then all of sudden your voice comes back and you have this annoying little tinker bell voice that confuses everyone. Anyways my first day in LA caused for some major exploring. Now if you know me, you know my difficulty with directions. I'm directionally challenged and I will admit that, so getting lost trying to find something 5 minutes away is one of my secret talents. However being lost here does not always call for a panic, because everytime I got lost I somehow found a new short cut to the beach.

Now, I've never been one to go places by myself, I always get irrationally scared. But living in LA I explored the city like a happy little loner and it was perfect. Going to the beach by myself was one of my favorite things to do. People watching, meeting people, all the dogs, THE SUNSETS. Don't even get me started on the sunsets they were pretty much the most perfect things I've ever seen in my entire life. I even once basically parked my car in the middle of the street just so I could see one.

Living in this city by myself caused for some major growing up on my end. I barely knew anyone and it caused me to realize that there can be some fairly scary people out there but also some really great ones. I met a new person everyday, and people were so open telling me about themselves it was incredible. It was the first time I ever had to stand completely on my own two feet and it was life changing.

I found ways to make friends, I found independence, and myself. I learned who I want to be in life, what I want to do, I learned that you can't go through life with a mindset that other people will fix all your problems with you.

You have to figure out how to do that by yourself. I learned that everyone has a story and most of the time it's definitely worth listening too. California is a beautiful place to look at but it's also the most incredible place to find yourself in. I grew up a lot this summer and as terrified as I was I was happy I did