I Love LA (and the rest of California)

I think it's important to be proud of where you come from, whether it be your ancestry or even region of the country. Even though I'm a big government- yay federal power kind of girl, I still recognize the differences between different states. I love learning about the differences in culture between parts of our nation as I do between countries world wide. Sometimes I think I should have double majored in anthropology or something.

As I learn about life in random parts of the country, it's always interesting to hear what people think about California, Southern California in particular. As my friend Helen pointed out in her Xanga, a lot of people think that we're materialistic and vain. A lot of people are openly jealous about our good weather. And a lot of people think that we're just plain weirdos. They don't call us "La La Land" for nothing.

While I actually do think that a lot of the above exists, the reason why I'm most proud of being a Californian is because I think that we're pioneers. Maybe not in all areas (health care... elementary education... functional state governance to name a few) but in many more. I stumbled across a LA Times spread of articles when I was taking a break from studying: What LA Gave to the World. It just made me really proud to come from So Cal. The melting pot forging the way as a green state & stem cell-reaseach state (a might have to admit the Governator is slightly growing on me for these two reasons, but I'm not fully sold), the home of worldwide entertainment, cuisine, technology, and so much more.

I'm not going to be one of those people at school who obsess over my home state, because seriously, (1) if you hate it here so much and love your home state so much, why did you move here and (2) what good will complaining do? But I will be proud, in the laid-back California kind of way.