I spontaneously went a little hair-dye-happy this weekend and this was the end result. What say you? Can I pull off the pink? But anyway... more on that in a moment.
First, I want to share with you about something that Rene and I have been talking about a lot recently. See, coming from about as far west as you can go to about as far east as you can go on one continent, we've experienced some changes. I would call it a culture shock.
California is a place full of variety and individuality. Sure, you have your conservatives and your business people... but you also have that man in Santa Cruz who spends his days promenading the streets in a pink tutu and parasol. And then there's a million and a half sorts in between. If you're from CA, or any of the west coast states for that matter, I'm sure you know what I mean.
Not to say that Pennsylvania doesn't have it's variety of people. It does. But it's such a different type of variety and such a different range of lifestyles than what we've always known.
I've always felt like a piece of the personality puzzle that made life so interesting, nestled perfectly into my proper little place. California just fit.
And we've yet to find our fit here in Pennsylvania. There are so many aspects of our lifestyles that are foreign here. Part of it has to do with allowing ourselves the time it takes to get settled and find our place. But I think there's another part to it. Because Lancaster, PA is not California. It is very, VERY different. And we will not just fit in with the majority naturally. It takes a little more work.
So with all of that rambling... what does staying true to ourselves look like in a place that's so foreign in so many ways?
Both of our reactions seem to lean towards not conforming to the different culture here. In fact, I think we sort of did the opposite. Hence the pink hair...
So there are my thoughts for you. And here's my pink ombre hair.
How would you remain yourself in a place and culture so different?
xo,
Jess
5 comments:
Love the pink hair lady! And I think it's great that you're remaining who you are regardless of the change in culture. Because really it's the differences that make things interesting :)
In love with the pink ombre. You can for sure pull it off. xoxo
You look stunning {as always}. I totally wanted to do the peacock hair do I saw on Pinterest where the ends of her hair were about 4-5 different shades. Gorgeous! Rach and I totally just looked at our self saying "of course she did!" Love you tons. California is not the same without you. We still might have the crazy tutu wearing man, but I want the neighbor that bike rides with me to farmers market. Am I being selfish a bit, yes. Just miss you guys. A lot. Love you. Chaz says "Where's Ren?!" :)
It looks great but I'm from California :) That must be so difficult to live in a place like that. I'm not sure how I would react. But maybe you guys can be the ones to start something different.
Everytime I visited Massachusetts growing up, I always noticed the cultural difference between the east and west coast. Frankly, I found the the east to be liberal... as far as behavior habits go. I realize the east probably IS more conservative than the west, actually, as they're more into preserving its heritages and embracing the history, compared to the west. But I didn't like the people on the east coast, especially the teenagers/young adults. Sure, they're all annoying, across the whole country, but on the east, they were more... loud, in the arrogant way that says they believe they can say and do as they wish, and how it affects others doesn't matter. Needless to say, rude.
Should you change to fit in, of course not! But I believe it comes down to if you WANT to fit in. For someone like me, who values being alone because I don't fit in anywhere, I would continue to be myself and sit around years and years until that one person comes around who is just like you, and becomes your new best friend. But for others, who need to have friends and be able to socialize in harmony, you gotta find some middle ground. You shouldn't have to change yourself completely (no one should), but you may have to embrace some of their cultural practices, or habits, or interests, in order to fit in enough.
Good luck! Over time, you'll grow to love PA, even if you go back to Monterey someday (which you probably will), but you'll start to understand where those people are from, why they act certain ways, believe what they believe, and you'll embrace them.
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