recently started college but he was fully enjoying the freedom and new experiences that came along with it. Which is to say he was smoking on a daily basis, skipping classes and trying to score beer in any way possible. Not that I had a problem with any of that or did any differently when I was in college. Although I was more of a liquor guy. He was social in a way that I never could be, and it might have been the only thing I was ever jealous of him about. I always rationalized that I was better off because I thought I was smarter, but odds are he’ll meet someone important, they’ll take a liking to him and then hook him up with a great job or situation. Meanwhile I’ll be consoling myself by telling him how many books I’ve read. That’s how he’s always been though to the point that if face painting and pretending to be a caged animal was what he needed to do to make friends, he wouldn’t think twice about doing it. My sister said she hated going anywhere with him back home because he always ran into someone he knew and had to
have a whole conversation with them. She said it happened everywhere from the bank to the grocery store to the park which I had to admit was actually pretty impressive. We were all very different, but my sisters shared similar goals and outlooks. I think they both would be happy as moms, but they wouldn’t let that role define themselves. And my brother was too preoccupied with sleeping in until 1 in the afternoon to be considering anything long term. But that was part of his charm. Being here allowed them to see up close and personal the kind of energy and mentality that LA had to offer and they were affected by it in
different ways. My sister and brother were a bit overwhelmed, but my baby sister enjoyed it to the point that she actually thought she might like to live out here. She would have stayed out shopping all day long if she could while my brother was content to take a nap, probably because he knew he wasn't going to run into anyone he knew all the way out here. But both girls would have stayed on the beach all day if it was up to them. All girls like the sun. Whether you were here for a day or a week or a year of forever, it was impossible to come here and not be affected by the city in one way or another. And that alone was a powerful thing because here the city was just as much a part of you as you were a part of it. Giving that up would be difficult, but giving it up for something so uncertain and possibly worse…that was indefensible. My brother was ambivalent about my potential plans, but the girls were not thrilled to learn I was thinking about leaving. My sister was worried about my safety while my baby sister was concerned with how I would maintain myself if I quit my job. And they all brought up how our parents would deal with it which is to say not well. Not well at all. I was still weighting my options, but I told them I had to do what I thought I needed to do regardless of the situation or details.