You Can Be the Talk...

GREETINGS, from San Diego, California!

San Diego, to say the least, is beautiful. The scenery sets a very pleasant mood, one that calls out to you to be just as sunny on the inside as it is outside. It calls to your imagination. I love that. My first day here, I saw a man that had all white hair skateboarding down a hill. Fast. I'd peg him as perhaps a golfer back home, somebody's father, with an office job in middle to upper management in finance or accounting. But when this man in the bright yellow top and matching helmet and knee-pads whizzed down the street, I saw a pretty impressive skateboarder in terrific shape, a thrill seeker who moved as quick as a nineteen year old. It was cool.

And that is pretty much how one could sum up San Diego: Cool.

I found myself also bringing my imagination and creativity to life. I went shopping and bought things that I would normally overlook, and decided not to play it so safe. There is nothing wrong tastefully accentuating a body that works hard to maintain its aesthetic appeal. That was a mouthful to say, so let's just say I got pretty creative and a few receipts later, I didn't regret spending a single penny.

With all of the trendy things to wear, do and eat, it's easy to forget the world's problems, or even some things that are a bit closer to home. The palm trees and the weather, the tans, beaches, mountains and nice cars, prestigious universities and cool hippy locals are easy reasons to fall in love with San Diego. It's liberal, it's safe, it's fun and if you can afford it, you can live here.

As I was taking in all of San Diego at a very high altitude a few days ago, I thought about something. How can a city with all of this promise, with scenery that looks like it were taken off of a movie set, be in the same country where people are starving and living in shacks? What I was looking at were the winners of the capitalist machine, a city ripe with examples of what you can have if you work hard. I mean, this is supposed to be true. But it is only true if you have everything else that this city has: a superb education system, a tax rate that people can afford, initiatives that are taking place here but nowhere else in most other major cities in the United States (like urban farming) and jobs. The fact is, the innate right to have access to these things are limited to a very small part of the nation that is not struggling to pay bills, feed their children and provide a decent education. So, we know what the problems are. How, though, do we fix them?

As beautiful as the scenery was atop that mountain, my thoughts kind of led me to feel like America as a whole has become a place where absurd circumstances have become less apparent to a lot of people. We've become too desensitized to what is morally sound, to help others, and to understand that it may require some leg work from the more fortunate, and more capable. After all, we all want San Diego to be a universal reality, not just another utopian dream. And that takes universal effort, no?

Just saying.

I love it here, though. My head is churning with an action plan.

There She Goes...

It has certainly been quite some time since I've last posted. I believe the last time that I actually wrote in my blog was before I became a Marine.

Well...six months and some change later, here I am. I am a United States Marine. Semper Fi, do or die and all that other good stuff. I'm currently stationed near water, which, it appears, will be the case for my duration in the Corps. I love the south, I don't know what took me so long to finally make it down here. I miss my family, though, and it breaks my heart sometimes. I think about it about three times a week. I don't think my baby sister knows me very well, and neither does my nephew. They've grown up so fast, I hope that they will forgive me for it later.

So, what's the Marine Corps like? For a female it can be a bit interesting. It has its costs and benefits. The first being that since I am one of very few females, guys are generally lining up to see if they have a chance. If I wanted to, I could easily go on a date just about every night of the week. The trouble is people talk way too much and word gets around pretty fast about everything, even if it's completely erroneous. Perception is reality, so all of that talk about not caring about what other people think is pointless, because things could get out of hand rather quickly. I've seen it and witnessed it myself. Also, we're a competitive bunch, so you'll find that some females will compete with you or resent you because of the attention that you get. One thing that they teach you in boot camp is that you have to have a thick skin. This is not a place that is warm and fuzzy and welcoming to females all of the time. You have to constantly be on guard. Sometimes you don't know if you have a real friend that is looking back at you. There are times like these when I really wish I were home and I cling to the familiar a bit more during these times.

Alas, there are some really awesome things that I get to do now that I am a Marine. A steady paycheck affords me the opportunity to go on road trips and get to meet new people, dance the night away, taste delicious food and enjoy the southern culture. I'm doing things now that I never thought of doing. It's really nice. There aren't any major cities and the pace here is a bit different, arguably slower, but I do appreciate waking up to the sunrise and walking along the beach to watch the sunset before dinner. Natural beauty has truly magnified here, and it makes me feel so small at times. Think about the number of times you've stood at the edge of the ocean, allowing the water to ebb and flow at your feet. How many times have you looked out at the distance and realized that there is something out there larger than you? Larger than life? So massive, so useful, and also so scary is the water alone. It's become such a humbling experience to be a part of natural scenery.

There truly isn't enough to say about what it's been like to become a Marine. I love my brothers and sisters. I love the adventure. I love being the best, but I hate having to discipline myself to do the seemingly impossible. What I did learn, though, is that anything (and everything) is possible if you can conjure it up in your mind.

I am no longer with that guy that I was dating when I wrote in my last blog. And no disrespect to what we had, he was a beautiful person when he wanted to be, but you ever just know that your heart is definitely coercing you into the wrong direction? Sometimes your heart wants what it wants. And right now, my heart wants me to just chill out and enjoy life because I'm all into "The one" but I haven't met anyone in awhile that's made me go bat-shit crazy on the inside. Not yet, but I know it's going to happen, so I'm good to go for now. 

That's about it for now. The beach and sun calls. It's the weekend, afterall, and class kind of hinders me from enjoying it during the week so much.