Let’s start at 16th & San Pedro MTA Division 2 where as youngin I remember always sitting at the front of the bus always admiring my dad who drove a bus around the city, which to me is a freaking talent in DTLA. I really used to think he was a super hero of some sort. Still do. I also remember being pushed in a granny cart on the way to the laundry mat with my mom. There I would entertain myself with the repetitive sounds of the home screen of pac-man and a $.25 bouncy ball. I would later tire myself out and fall asleep on the pile of laundry in the basket while we waited for the rest to finish. After, we headed home and my mom always let me tug on the wire that followed a strange man with a monotone voice letting the super hero know that I was home.
We moved away from the city and while I did most of my growing up in quiet little ‘ol Ontario I knew that there would always be a special place in my heart that belonged to DTLA. I knew this because when I did find myself visiting the city my eyes never grew so big than when I saw the skyline unveil itself on the 10-W coming from the 60-W. No matter how many times I looked at it, it still amazed me every time. Years flew by and my visits to the city lessened, but little did I know that in the next 5 years it would become my new home. It just took some extra steps.
9th & Hope is where it all started. My college years flew, but it was during that time that I learned what I wanted to be for the rest of my life. Suddenly, my love for the city was joined by the love for art & design and once the two intertwined there was no going back. My days in little Ontario were soon to be outnumbered.
As a student my ultimate dream was to somehow land a design job in the city and while that dream seemed so big and impossible I wrapped my short little arms around it as much as I could. Two months after graduation I was able to give my arms a rest as I found myself fulfilling my dream.
7th & Figueroa is where the dream was born! I spent my time there learning and exhausting every resource and creative person around me. Constantly making mistakes and learning from them molding myself to be a better designer. I was greatly blessed for the opportunity and I knew it was only the beginning.
Metrolink 407 was a mobile home where I studied, had dinner & even slept before and after both school and work. I distinctly remember the evenings pulling out of Union Station looking out to the window and seeing the skyline. I watched it move from one end of the window to the other – beautiful as ever. I said, “I wish I can live there in a studio.” Soon after “I wish” became “I will”.
5th & Hill is where I lived. During this time I learned about myself the most. I missed my family more than ever, but I knew they were proud of me and that’s what kept them close. I learned new responsibilities that were expected of me living on my own. Suddenly I had to buy own detergent?! What - that’s a thing?! With responsibilities, new budgets and e n d l e s s maintenance forms came the joy of living in the city. It’s never quiet nor a dull moment when you’re surrounded by so many people from all sorts of backgrounds.
I don’t love the city simply for its beautiful tourist attractions, I love it because I basically grew up here. From going to work with my dad, going to school, work & now living here it’s been a wonderful adventure and it was done in the city that I love. I worked hard and held onto dreams bigger than my own body could ever endure and I held onto them tight!
While others will say that DTLA is noisy, messy & really pricey, it embodies the characteristics that I call, home. And it is exactly where I need to be.
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