I am indeed Los Angeles born and bred. I’ll drive an hour to Alhambra from the West Side just for a good bowl of pho. I’ll listen to my old high school cd’s on repeat in my little blue Prius. I’ll go through the drive through at Taco Bell just for that midnight bean and cheese (and take crazy videos). Yes, I’ll park where I shouldn’t park, and I just may go over the speed limit every once in a while. I’ll sit on the keyboard all day long in the music room, and plug in my microphone, belting as if I’m performing for hundreds of thousands of people…just like I did when I was little. I’ll go through my college books that haven’t been touched in years in my bedroom, and read the those novels with the notes in it over and over again. I’ll make any excuse to meet in Santa Monica because I love that city by the sea so darn much. I’ll do anything to get the perfect photo, to capture the most perfect moment. I’ll still wake up at 6am to go to a good Beverly Hills Estate Sale just to get first dibs on the designer coat before the next girl gets it. I’ll forever slip out my Valley “as if” accent. I’ll still consider everything “epic”, “sick”, and “rad”. I’ll always find a way to make fun of a situation.

But most of all, I’ll always have my Los Angeles friends and family. We could be sitting in my dining room table (friends, mom, dad, and the whole crew), and talk about absolutely anything and everything. I love my kooky characters. Like the city itself, it’s like you never left. That time didn’t change a thing. That I haven’t really been on the east coast for already 5 years. That I’m about to call myself a true New Yorker…for real. Your true friends will always remember you purely as you. As “Natalie”, or littler” (little sister), and love you just because they do…and always will no matter what happens. Your real friends and loved ones love you as you are. As you be and let you be. So it’s important to be you. Be genuine and real. Being in touch with your roots always keeps you in check. Don’t let go of those people who are always there for you, and don’t ever change. I haven’t, and you shouldn’t either. LA has those people, moments, and memories I’ll always hold on to. Just like the Pacific Ocean. Constantly changing, the waves in and out, but it’ll always be there to welcome you home. Los Angeles, I love you.

// Jocelyn coat, Louis Vuitton blouse, Frame Denim jeans, vintage Michael Kors belt, Opening Ceremony boots //

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