I’m sure people have been waiting with bated breath for my thorough comparison. I think after surviving a full season in my new home, I do have some insight. BUt there’s really no direct comparison that would make much sense. I love both cities equally for very different reasons, one of which I will try to explain today.
Yes, I wearing this new crop top in a Coffee Shop in Chi-town.
LA is a city of dreamers. Although there are plenty of natives, the culture of transplants who have foresaken everything to move to the West Coast and be an artist is palpable. It’s where all the misfits, the ugly ducklings and the misunderstood find solace. We found each other and dreamed about making it big one day – on film, in the studio, in a back office, and at the agency. But it’s so beautiful all the time that there’s not really a rush to fulfill those goals right now. I mean for the majority of the country, relocating to LA and sitting by the beach at a coffee shop is the dream. Picking the ‘right’ dream will just happen by itself because this city breeds creativity like rabbits. So let’s be thankful for what we have. Let’s find contentment and hold onto it while we have a vision board party about what’s possible in the future. Let’s live the dream and create our own happiness, like everyone back home expects us to… but first let me take a selfie.
And here I am in working in LA.
Chicago is a city of workers. We have 22 colleges and industrial roots. I swear everyone I meet is in school, teaching, and/or has 2 jobs. The hustle is palpable. If you live here you are probably from here and maybe your parents still live in your neighborhood. Work isn’t meant to be soul enriching, it’s meant to pay some bills. The same is true of Chicagoans’ art. It’s meant to do something. It has a purpose and does not come with ease. Most of my musician friends have Master’s degrees in their art form. It’s taken very seriously. There’s a reason people come to Chicago for Steppenwolf. The grind is about consistency and output. It’s formulaic. My friends have gone to the same weekly jam sessions and organize the same open mics for years, sometimes decades. Their fans are Chicago natives who know their middle names and their brother-in-laws. It’s one big family that lives and breathes Chicago. So let’s put our head down and write and record this album, then we’ll go on a Midwest tour and make a video. Don’t worry, I’ll be around for festival season.
The most common question I get is “Why did you move from LA to Chicago? It’s supposed to happen the other way around.” Well, “supposed to” is clearly one of my least favorite phrases, but I digress. Maybe the two fit together better than you’d think. Maybe they need each other. The dreamers could use a dose of hard work to supplement the eloquent visions it takes years of contemplation and experience to articulate. And the workers could benefit from removing their gaze from the trench and towards the horizon, if they want to move a little further. Dreamers and workers don’t have to hate each other. It doesn’t have to be an opposition within myself either. They are both my gifts.
So when I say I came Chicago for a challenge, I really meant that I wanted an environment that would support the attainment of the dreams I so carefully constructed in the last 6 years. My Heart’s Desire. Huzzah!
Life In The Question 