Lately i’ve been in a slump and haven’t had the motivation to post any of my fits or even have the energy to go out and explore. I’ve been working and staying home – which made me sink into my thoughts and I thought I should share whats been on my mind lately.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how its already been over a year since I moved away from home (Hawai’i) and started life independently in LA. Which made me deeply think – What have I accomplished so far? Personally, I feel like I accomplished a lot. Not only did I gain lots of knowledge in fashion (compared to my knowledge before), I feel like I’ve grown to be a much more positive person than before. And to me, that is one of the biggest accomplishments ever coming from being diagnosed with depression and bi-polar disorder. Any way, i’d like to share 4 major things LA has taught me and how it made me a better person within a year – enjoy!

BE A SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

LA is a melting pot – the city is full of people from different cities, states, countries.. its honestly so amazing. Anyone can live in LA and survive if you’re smart enough. People around the world will come to succeed in so many different career fields. In order to succeed and make connections, you have to be a good talker. You have to throw away your pride and be the first person to greet someone. How else are you going to succeed in this generation if you can’t? Its all about connection these days, if you can talk – TALK!

PEOPLE WILL JUDGE

Honestly, LA isn’t the friendliest place. Especially if you are trying to make it in the music, acting, fashion, and/or the modeling industry. If you don’t know the right people (people that already have a name in the industry or know big named people) you’ll be stared down or ignored. Which is why you have to have a strong personality. Honestly, i’m still working on mine. But compared to how I was before, I don’t even give the time of day to those that I feel are judging me. Which to me is already a big step into having a strong personality. In order to succeed, you have to ignore all of that. At first it is difficult. But as long as you meet the right people in the industry, they will help you to loosen up and help you be more comfortable going to events/parties without caring about those who are judging you. I’m truly grateful to have met such nice people in LA which now I consider my life long friends.

CUT OFF SEASON IS EVERY SEASON

When I was living in Hawai’i, honestly I was a weak ass person. I let people walk all over me and as long as I was surrounded by people I didn’t care how they treated me. Kinda sad right? Well, in LA you can’t let that slide. In order to have a strong personality you have to stand up for yourself. This is probably the most important thing I learned. This past year, i’ve cut off at least 3 people which were my closest friends since middle school. It was the best decision i have ever made. People who don’t respect you or take advantage of you are not your friends. Yes, it honestly is sad to not be friends with someone that you have so much history with but sometimes you have to close that door to open a new one. With my busy life in LA, I don’t have time to deal with people that weighed me down. I didn’t have time for negativity. I realized that you don’t need over 10 friends to keep you company, you can just have 1 or 2 people who you know are your real friends and thats all you need. Quality over quantity – remember that!

TAKE CRITICISM

A lot of people don’t know how to react positively when other critic them. In order to succeed, you have to hear others opinions. If you want to learn and change for the better, you have to take the criticism in a positive way. The reason I learned so much about fashion and learn how to improve myself mentally and physically is because I listened to what others said. I stopped making excuses and being in denial and took the criticism. You can’t be stubborn if you want to succeed. People critic you because they care and want to see you do better. People told me I should change my hair style, people talked to me about so many different things which made me the person I am today. And i’m really happy about the outcome. So sometimes you just have to shut up, sit down and listen to what others have to say. Whether its positive or negative criticism, you’ll get a positive effect on it if you take it the right way.

Thank you for reading! Hope this helped some people who are thinking about moving to LA.

If you are from somewhere else but live/lived in LA, what did you learn?

Comment below!