6 months ago living in California was only a dream . A dream I had since I first looked up at the sea of palm trees on my family vacation to Huntington Beach . But it was a dream I held onto and it became my driving force for the last 4 years . It got me through 8ams on Monday mornings , all nighters studying , and Sunday scaries . People always talk about dreams and far off adventures but never seem to actually go on them . It hit me at different times ; I ’ d be at a party or I ’ d run into a family friend and tell them about how I was going to get an internship in California and make a career out there . As my eyes lit up at the possibility , theirs glazed over with the all to familiar talk .
I don ’ t think it was to prove them wrong that fueled me but that I worked day in and day out in college to gain the most experience and learn the most so I could stop talking about what I was going to do and actually do it . Each winter break I went to California and each time it only stoked the fire to get back out there – and get there permanently . Driving Big Sur and biking San Diego reassured me of my love of California and each time I was forced to leave I knew it was never truly a goodbye .
People always talk about
This past March one of my favorite companies and someone who would become one of my favorite mentors gave me the chance of a lifetime to intern at Raen Optics in Oceanside , California . While , this was the dream there were some definite doubts … I was about to move 2,700 miles across the country to work an unpaid internship , with no car , and barely any money to my name . But my best friend and I were determined to make this happen .
dreams and far off adventures but never seem to actually go on them .
We spent months finding apartments and learning about what would be our new home . Fast-forward , to 8 days before we ’ re scheduled to fly out for the summer and our apartment falls through – sheer panic . But the thing about plans falling through or life changing its axis on you , is that you learn to adapt .
And adapt we did . We signed the first apartment that looked like it didn ’ t have bed bugs and would rent to us month-to-month we gleefully met at the airport at 5:30am as our moms cried and kissed us goodbye and we excitedly anticipated what was to come . 10,000 feet up in the air , my brain couldn ’ t stop turning about all the possibilities and adventures to come . One car rental , half our money , two mattresses off the side of the road , In & Out , and a set of keys to our new home and were left standing in a very small , unfurnished one bedroom . An apartment we were already unsure about after our lovely landlord , the candy gram herself , informed us that , no the apartment would not have AC , that actually we wouldn ’ t need it , and went as far as to tell us we ’ d probably use the heat … Spoiler alert . She was very , very wrong .
The next week that ensued was one of the funniest of my life . It was the hunt to find furniture on a very strict , STRICT budget . Like good Americans we know that all good cheap things come from Craigslist ! Our first experience with this was to get a couch . We set up to meet at 5pm at her apartment for the “ Free and super comfy ” couch . We arrived . We called . And we were promptly yelled at for coming so late and that there was no couch .
Time for our next plan … thrift shops . The idea was to get the apartment furnished as fast as possible because we only had our small and super inconvenient car for a few more days . By the end of the week our apartment consisted of 2 folding chairs , an end table , and our two mattresses on the ground on either side of a night stand . It looked horrifying . Three days later we ended up finding the 2 most perfect couch sectionals – one for each of us . But they would never fit in our car and we also seemed to lack the friends with trucks that we thought we might have found at this point . But when did that ever stop us from getting exactly what we wanted .
There was 1 mile between our apartment and the couch . A mile of highway overpasses and underpasses , parking lots , stop lights , and a massive hill . Seemed easy enough ! Carrying it would have taken forever so we did the next best thing . Threw that bad boy on a shopping cart and took them home . We got some sideways looks and after much convincing of the two sweet old ladies who sold us the couch , “ the shopping cart was our plan all along and we only lived right around the corner .”
Sitting down on those couches for the first time after hauling them home and almost falling into bushes and traffic was something else . We instantly deemed them the best couches and best purchase we could have made . Our final piece of furniture came in the shape of a the most massive square coffee table , that refused to fit in our trunk more than 1 / 15 of one corner . So naturally , I climbed in the trunk and held onto the table for dear life as Paige avoided every pothole in North County to get this gem home . One week in , the car was returned and we needed wheels . The obvious choice was to buy two beautiful Electra Beach cruisers . At this point this decision was more questionable than you think it is , because we had already been here a week and very well knew just how many hills
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