Field Notes: The Media School Travel Blog

For years, I wanted to leave Indiana.

Whether it was for career purposes or new opportunities or just a change of scenery, for the longest time, I felt the Circle City was no longer the place for me. I felt limited. I felt boxed in. I felt trapped.

So when I found out about the Semester in Los Angeles program, I knew that was my ticket out. Fast forward to being rejected from the program upon my first attempt, getting accepted the second time only to push back my enrollment due to just re-signing my lease and, of course, the pandemic. 

Nevertheless, August 2021 came around, and I finally arrived in Los Angeles, the city of dreams. Some would argue the epithet belongs to New York City, but that’s the city that never sleeps, so how could it dream?

All bad jokes aside, nothing could have prepared me for those initial feelings when I drove in from I-10 W and laid my eyes on The Angels for the first time.

“It’s dirtier than I thought,” I remember thinking to myself. “Sheesh, the gas prices are high!”

Of course, people had told me about some of these things for years: the high cost of living, the homelessness, etc. But it’s one thing to hear and another thing to experience. Had I made a mistake? Should I have visited first? Too late now.

Going back was not an option. Therefore, I chose to concoct a plan to make the best of my time in L.A. Like many of my contemporaries, I spent time sightseeing: traveling to the Griffith Observatory, hiking Mount Lee, visiting Santa Monica Pier, playing basketball in Venice Beach and eating at some of the most delicious restaurants ever.

But I also wanted to hit the ground running. The first weekend after classes began, I started looking into ways to connect with people. I went to a cold reading class for actors at Griffith Park, and I attended a networking event at the Sunset Rooftop. Motion must create emotion. My aunt informed me of a friend of hers who was looking for a director and an editor for a documentary. Additionally, a lady who had inspired me to get into entertainment several years ago learned of my relocation to Los Angeles and connected me with an old student who sat down with me and gave me advice and direction.

There’s so much more I could say about how, since moving here, I’m the most motivated I’ve ever been in my life. But if I’ve taken anything from my experience overall, it’s this: I believe everyone, especially creatives, should visit Los Angeles at least once. While it’s immensely competitive, it has challenged me to think in ways I never had before. L.A. has given me a perspective that will no doubt influence the rest of my life going forward.