It is a daunting, seemingly uninviting city. It is a city where delineation and diversity co-exist. A city gravely misunderstood by those who do not live here. I've experience the misunderstanding and judgment first hand when traveling with my Bay Area-born family. At some point a waiter inevitably asks us where we are from, and before I have a chance to say “LA” my brother glares at me and shouts “San Francisco.” To him, a simple association with Los Angeles is shameful and repulsive. Yet it's an association with an abstract, undefined place. It is about a misunderstood muddled mess. It is only in interacting with the uniqueness of the neighborhoods and individuals that reside here that a true impression can be formed.
Los Angeles is my home. Well, Santa Monica, really. The ambiguous and expansive nature of the city make it difficult to assess exactly where one does live on the map -- living in West Hollywood means you do indeed live in the city of West Hollywood, while residing in Westwood means a return address of Los Angeles. The lack of definition often causes only those with a strong sense of self to survive. The others are in danger of being swallowed by the stereotypes and victimized by the harsh judgment of the ignorant that do not live here. It is a fight to find one's place here. I have fought hard and found mine.
- Jessica Lewis