Travel far enough to meet yourself!
(I feel like this was said about me and my experience far away from home in Latvia)
My last month in the USA. Hard to believe. Time ran so fast. I realize it again and again. Soon I will be going back home so it’s time to think about what I have had this year… and I realize that there are so many things!!! S-o-o m-a-n-y! I feel like I lived much more than just 1 year because I did so many things! So what did I do and what has changed? I did a lot and I changed a lot.
What has changed?
– Me.
Now I feel like a different person. A better version of myself! That was not the program that changed me. I changed by myself, by doing things that I wanted.
I feel so good. I feel so happy. People with vision and dreams are the most powerful people in the world! I am a dreamer.
I am a fighter. And I will never give up!
This year was not easy, it was rather tough especially at the beginning of my journey in the USA, but it just made me stronger!
I am so so so so happy for everything I experienced, for everything I learned and for all the amazing people I met here! All of that gave me so much knowledge and such a different perspective of life. I started to wish for more and I got more! I attended events that I normally would not and it made me a different person. This year was and is going to be life-changing for me. I met people that I would love to partner up with! I met people who believe in me even sometimes when I don’t.
California taught me the power of happiness and idea generation. The feeling of being inspired is really magical. Basically, every day when I saw the blue sky and sun and palm trees, I got happy! I don’t need a lot to be happy so this is it. That is all it takes. And when I am happy I can make other people happy and together we can do amazing things! California is a super inspiring place! At least for me! I feel here soooo good! The weather is super important to me and here it is great! Sun and blue sky every single day! I love it!
The world is changing and so am I 🌎
I learned that it is important to compare yourself with who you were yesterday, not with somebody else. We have to learn consistently and we have to improve ourselves daily. You can start from anywhere but become a better version of yourself every day! You can get a completely new lifestyle and develop completely new habits but make sure you become happier and healthier and a better version of yourself than you were yesterday!
I want to share how energized and motivated I feel these days. Finally, I have time to do all of those things I have postponed and procrastinated. Now is the time! Chill and work!
Now I know that I can! Within this time I really grew up my character. Now I know that I can get things done! I built up my confidence and truly believed in myself! I will dream and I will make my dreams come true! Last year proved that everything is possible! Everything! You just have to believe in yourself that you can do it! I will keep this in mind and I will teach it to my friends and family. This is something that everybody has to know.
You already have the energy and knowledge to make your dreams come true! Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable! You can totally do everything you have imagined! I will let this be my mantra!
Los Angeles is a place that changed me, but in a good way. I learned myself better, I learned that opportunities are limitless and endless, it is just a matter of your own creativity, willpower and commitment to it. Most things depend on how dedicated you are. It is important how much you want it!
I used to be a shy girl, I used to be afraid of chasing my dreams but when I got there, especially when I knew that my time there was counted, I decided to become braver than I have ever been. I had one year in California so I had to use my time wisely to get the most out of it! I was looking up for events and meetups that crossed the topics that I was interested in, I attended guest lectures and I was networking like crazy. I did things that I normally would not do. Deep inside I have always had a feeling that I can do much more than I currently do. I knew that to get something that I have never had, I had to do things I have never done and I had to go to places where I had never been before. So I did!
I had a chance to attend amazing events, listen to some great speakers, participate in a shooting of a TV show, and see a lot of great presentations led by great professionals. I also had a chance to learn a lot of new things! I saw a lot of different people, I saw celebrities, I saw really successful people! I met so many inspiring people and the way we met was mostly by accident or unexpected. As we all know – Great meetings can be life-changing! I am happy that I became friends with such great people! And I am very proud of them! There are great people to talk to and also great professionals: some of them work for such companies as Gensler, Morphosis, Gehry Partners, SpaceX, Snapchat and Apple.
Things like these were very inspiring to me! It made me wish more and ask for more from life! So I set up my goals and then I had something more to fight for! I challenged myself cause that is how I grow and develop myself the best!
Speaking about covid and quarantine since the end of March. In fact, that technically we all had much more time than before, I actually did less of what I had planned. Instead of that, I did things that I would never do if there wouldn’t be such a thing as a quarantine. Instead of consuming content, I created it, I built up my skills, I dedicated my time to learn new things. I started to listen to audiobooks and I got used to it. I learned so much! I discovered new worlds to myself! I enjoyed the California weather and took care of myself much more than before. I felt great!
When I got to know that we will have a quarantine, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know what to do. First of all, I had to decide whether I stay in the USA or I go back home to Latvia. I decided that no matter what, I will stay there. And I am very happy that I did. Yea… quarantine sort of ruined my plans but I am not mad. I took it as a life lesson. And still, I could do a lot! Some of my friends asked me what things I didn’t get to do. So here are some of them; I wanted to go to the Staples Center for a basketball game or a concert, I wanted to see a Dodger’s game, go to Walt Disney concert hall for a great concert, attend a rock concert, visit much more art galleries, visit Stahl House and a lot more! As the world was turned upside down, I couldn’t do those things. They all were canceled. But that’s okay. I just couldn’t believe it for a while. This is something that the world had not seen before, ever. Super weird. No one had experienced anything like this before. Hard to believe what was going on. All of this still feels like a dream to me. But I am okay that I couldn’t go to those places in Los Angeles and travel to some great places outside of LA. I know that I will have time to do it all some other time.
Back in those times, a part of me thought that it’s all over and I gotta go back home. But the other part kept believing that everything will be alright! And I made it! I made the most and more out of it! In spite of all the restrictions, I still managed to have a good time and really enjoyed California. I have the best memories!
And I am soooo happy and thankful for each and everyone who made my time so great and fantastic! Full of amazing adventures! Thank you very much!
May was definitely my very favorite month! The more I got from California, the more I loved it! I really felt the culmination of my year in spite of everything! This was the top of the top in the best way!
Actually, now when I analyze, I realize that I need to change what I said before. I thought that March was and will be my favorite month but I got to say that May was slightly better. May really surprised me in a good way. Yes, I didn’t get a chance to travel. Yes, I didn’t get a chance to meet more people and to attend the events, but that was something that I could not affect. I did what I could and I took the most out of it. I made myself happy and I kept this attitude!
When I believed that even during the pandemic, it is possible to enjoy life, miracles happened! I got much more than I could ever ask for: my first ride with a motorcycle, unexpected, another unexpected ride with a motorcycle, new friends, new Latvians, new adventures, new things, new experiences, new places and new adventures. All of that added so much to my best memories! And even on the very last day I managed to have a great time! In spite of coronavirus, pandemic, restrictions and curfew, my friend offered the last adventure and I was definitely down for that!
My wandering spirit was stronger than my fears.
But those weren’t easy times. May was a challenging month. When I sort of solved the quarantine issue and managed to deal with it, protests started and we had the curfew. Before that I didn’t even know what “curfew” is. It changed my plans for the last few days but I didn’t focus on what I cannot do, instead I focused more on what I still can do. And together with some friends I managed to have a great time! I am going to summarize my year in the USA in the next following posts so stay tuned! My last days in the USA were amazing! My last week was the top of the whole experience!!!
LATVIAN WANDERER 