"If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears." - Cesare Pavese
Salutations, friends. You have found me in the midst of a trendy little coffee shop in the heart of Hollywood, drawing creative inspiration from every corner of the energetic city of Los Angeles. Although this visit to the West Coast is more of a pit stop to my final destination, it has been impactful and enriching. I have had the absolute pleasure of spending my time here with one of my old Orlando roommates and close friends, Emily.
There is one word that I think of when I want to describe Emily to the world: Inspiring. She is one of the most innovative and courageous individuals I know, and she never hesitates to pursue a dream to her heart's fullest content. Like me, she is a writer. Her creative mind knows no limits, and her writing is drenched with clever satire, my personal favorite style of literature. When it comes to my craft, I value Emily's opinion over most, because she is basically a writing guru extraordinaire. When Emily made the decision to break away from the confines of Orlando and begin a career in writing in Los Angeles, it was a sad day indeed, but also a necessity. She is creating a future that is successful and adventurous, and I cannot be more happy to call her my friend and confidant.
Most of my time here has been spent with Emily and her boyfriend, Jack. Let me say something about Jack. At first I did not believe this man existed. I was convinced that Emily had conjured up an elaborate ruse in order for me not to pity her lonely existence here, because the stories she had of this man were too ethereal to be real. This mythical character, she claimed, had made a successful life in film, with various triumphs including freelance work with large corporations and fully written and directed shorts that were powerful enough to move you to tears. Yeah, ok, Emily, this fabled "Jack," I'm just not buying it.
Well, lo and behold, it pains me to inform you that Jack does indeed exist in human form, and what a human he is. Apart from the obvious physical perfection that Emily and Jack are together, he is an incredibly kind and decent individual, and he takes a very true interest in the lives of the people he meets. Immediately, I could tell this man was right for Emily. It put my mind at great ease to know that she is taken care of over here.
Visual proof of Jack's existence.
The day was spent beautifully. Emily took me to the local farmer's market, where we marveled in fresh produce and awed over the delicious tastes of organic living. I had already visited Los Angeles once before, so I wasn't in desperate need to experience the tourist hotspots, however, we couldn't help but appreciate the Hollywood Stars Walk of Fame along our track about the town. Of course, we also had to stop and excite ourselves over the celebrity imprints among the TCL Chinese Theatre. Its an exhilarating feeling to know you are surrounded by the footprints of such timeless silver screen talent, dating back to the inception of film stardom.
The energy of Los Angeles filled me up with bright longing. I could begin to feel the creeping ambition to possibly start a life here becoming more present with every passing moment with these beautiful souls. The people who created lives for themselves here had somehow combined fierce tenacity and relaxed inhibitions, and the end product was an astoundingly wonderful lifestyle that I immediately craved.
However, I couldn't focus on that craving just yet. I had an adventure to begin.
The preparations over the past two months for my travels to Aussieland were complete, and all that stood before me was a 16 hour flight across the Pacific to my new home in Sydney. The realization that I was spending my last moments on American soil didn't occur to me until yesterday when I casually mentioned to someone that I "am moving to Australia tomorrow." Vocalizing that fact immediately sent a rush of fearful excitement through my body. Was I ready for this? That seemed to be the most popular topic of debate within my friends and family.
To answer honestly, no, I'm not ready. I don't think anyone is ever ready to leave behind the comfort of an old life and dive into something completely foreign and unknown. I think it just comes together in fragments, like pieces of a puzzle. I am not going to fully understand what I need to successfully live in Australia until I learn and experience the people around me. The only true comforting notion about this upcoming leap of faith is the fact that I won't be doing it alone.
I am incredibly thankful to know that my good friend, Jonny, and I will be taking this adventure overseas together to meet our mutual soul mate, Lacey.
Jonny, Lacey and I met each other in 2010 in a whirlwind of ridiculous insanity, and our souls have been connected ever since.
Jonny boy is the reason I pay any resemblance of attention to my fashion sense when I decide to grace the world with my presence every day. His uncanny ability to look at a person and immediately see what makes them beautiful is comforting when you are like me and have a difficult time seeing that. He is a fiercely loyal friend, and I could not be more excited to be a fellow character in his already well-traveled existence.
Lacey is a creature unlike any I have experienced in the world. She is a unique individual in so many aspects of her life. From her inexplicably infectious demeanor to her endearing giggle, Lacey is one of a kind, and I am beyond thankful for her friendship. When we met, it had been like we were waiting for the other to come into the other's life. She is a puzzle piece in my world that I hope to never lose. It is because of Lacey that I grew the strength to make this life-altering decision to leave America. Together, along with Jonny, this adventure will never have one dull moment.
I am constantly comforted by Lacey, because she has worked so incredibly hard in preparation for our arrival to Sydney. The girl has spent days pouring over the apartment advertisements in order to find us a and affordably suitable roof to have over our naïve heads. She has spent the last month and a half learning the culture and sharing her knowledge on how to live humbly in an intensely expensive community. If it were not for her, I would not have had the courage to make this transition to a new life. I truly hope she knows how thankful I am to have her in my life.
Lacey, Jon and I being wonderfully weird in 2010.
The three of us still killing it in 2014.
So, this is it, ladies and gentlemen. In these past posts you have seen me laugh, cry, panic, fear, but most of all, love. I have loved so many moments these past weeks, and it has given me so much light and happiness that I could burst into a million sunbeams and blind the world. I thank you all so much for following my posts so far, and you have my unyielding gratitude for the endless support I feel from the four corners of the world. No matter where I found myself, there was a journey to be taken, and boy did I take it wholeheartedly. I have been built up by the world around me, and I cannot wait to experience life in a completely new way. So, I plan to soak up the rest of this beautiful LA afternoon in true Robby fashion: too much coffee, and surrounded by the positive energy I find in people along the way.
I cannot wait to write again to you from the wild new habitat of the unknown world I am about to encompass myself in. Right now, I am balancing on the cliff of my comfortable life, staring into the tumultuous mystery before me. All that's left to do is jump.
Until next time in Australia, my dear friends.
-Robby
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