I was born there, at one point in my life, I even lived there (for approximately 1 year...and it was actually in the middle of the Mojave desert), and if there is any place in the world where I am my happiest - it's at La Jolla Coves in CA.
However, according to many of my CA-native friends, I am not a "real" Californian. Which is an argument that is enough to bring me to the brink of tears. I have moved SO much you guys, I don't have a hometown! People will ask me, "Where are you from?" and I hesitate, "No where," I finally stutter and then quickly attempt to clarify that I've moved around all my life and therefore don't really have a "hometown" and am not really "from" anywhere. (I once heard a friend of mine, another Army-brat, answer the dreaded, "Where are you from?" question with, "I came from my mother's uterus. Thanks for asking." - Well...it's certainly an interesting way to answer the question!)
Honestly, I can't really claim to be from any other place, I am apparently not a "real" anything.
The identity crisis aside, I decided (about half way through my trip) that I ought to do my best to look like a "real" Californian. I closely observed the locals (specifically those around the coastal areas) and some patterns emerged: Booty shorts for gals, Cargo shorts for guys; Sunglasses for everyone; Cute/tight tees or tops for gals, polos or t-shirts for guys; Cell phones (almost always a smart phone) for everyone; light sweaters (for cool/breezy days - but still worn with shorts); and some other accessory or item (ie surfboard, Starbucks, Designer Bag, etc.)
Now, I've seen people dressed like this elsewhere. However, there's a sense of attitude that's also worn by Californians (I don't mean "I'm all that" or a kind of haughtiness or anything like that, of course. I mean - a sense of self-awareness, confidence, and belonging to the lovely West coast.) Their looks all just seemed to say "This is how I look, this is where I belong, this is where I live/work/etc. This is me." - I wanted to emulate this (short of booty shorts of course). I wanted other people (tourists) to look and me and think, "whoa, she must be from around here."
So, let me see if I can't give you an idea of how I looked while on my trip:
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| Day 1: Sunglasses; Old Navy "San Diego" top (apparently, it's not very CA to wear CA themed shirts...unless they're Hollister or something like that :p); Bermudas; White Flip Flops |
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| Day 2 Black Jeans (felt a bit weird to be wearing em in CA...); White Cardigan (Old Navy); OP Tank top; Purple Converse (Not Pictured); Sunglasses (Not Pictured) |
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| Day 3 Weirdly enough, I wore jeans to La Jolla Beach :p Red/Stripey/Crocheted Tank (Old Navy); Black Cardigan; Sunglasses (not pictured) |
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| Day 4 I almost totally forgot to take a photo on Day 4 - this is the closest I have to an outfit photo for that day. Light blue jeans; Green t-shirt (Old Navy, and SUPER soft...though, a bit low cut XP); Sunglasses |
Sorry for the random outfit post everyone - I haven't had a chance yet to sit down and sift through all the photos I took while I was here (I actually didn't take as many as I was expecting to) and write up some legit blog posts. -- I have some homework that I need to get done this weekend/upcoming week, but as soon as I can, I'll be posting more about my trip! :)
P.S. In case you're curious, GPOY stand for "Gratuitous Photo of Yourself" :P
3 comments:
I dunno about Californian, I've never been there, but you do sure look cute!
I think when you are asked that question you should just say you're from California...It's where you seem to most identify with when ask about home. And though you're from all over the place by nature of being a military brat. You can still say I'm from California but have lived all over.
She always looks cute:-)
Jared has a good point. But if you want a hometown, you can have Arizona. I'll give it to you for free...I don't want it anymore. =P
hmmm...you're right. no one wants arizona...
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