Well, we made it. It’s February 1. The month of January — for my Southern Californians — was insane. We are now picking up the pieces. To my friends who showed love and support, you have my heart. While it’s all so devastating, Angelenos collectively showed up for each other in ways I could not have predicted, and it was beautiful to witness.

It’s strange to have the year kickoff with so many ominous things. I’m feeling renewed and hopeful, which is…odd. ‘I can’t be a pessimist because I’m alive.’ Shout out James Baldwin. Leave it to someone perpetually oppressed to remind us to toughen the fuck up.

All the doom reminded me that most writing about California is ominous. This Joan Didion quote circulated a lot at the start of the fires:

Didion wasn’t the only writer to give us doomsday vibes. John Fante, John Steinbeck, Nathanael West and “The Day of the Locust,” which is about LA (West was not a Californian. Catch me leaning into my fourth generation Californian identity hard).

To me, California is the promise land. But for early migrants, going west led to death. Many died trying to make it work. LA writers like Fante and Charles Bukowski watched people die alone alongside their dreams. We forget that decades ago, many people died at the bottom of a dried out irrigation ditch, abandoned gold mine, or bankrupt movie studio. Today, it’s in a decrepit apartment trying to go viral, clinging to their last bit of notoriety.

The circumstances can be just as hard as the natural disasters. Didion’s essay talks about 100 mph Santa Anas screaming through the canyons and lighting up the city. Fire that can be seen from the Harbor freeway (Pasadena). Let that be a reminder — we have been here before.

Calamity might sit at our door, but what’s also in the dirt and silt of California is grit. We don’t get the reputation as a gritty place because of the sunshine, yoga, and smoothies, but it’s a different kind of hard that we choose here, or that those who came before us chose.

Here, you are promised nothing. Succeed or die was the mantra for a long time. You will be challenged here. You will see at least one dream die. Many people arrive only to watch as they slowly run out the clock on their money and opportunities. California requires multiple failures and not everyone has the stomach for it. Pair that with the potential to lose your home or livelihood in the blink of an eye and some people might run for stability.

Whether you’re in Silicon Valley, Hollywood, or somewhere in between, the impermanence is ever-present. And it all lives alongside sunsets, mountain ranges, and beaches so gorgeous they use them for screensavers. Here, you can’t be afraid to start over, because you’ll likely be forced to again and again.

California — and LA in particular — requires a lot of you. It’s not what you expect, but it’s certainly what you need. Long live California, and love and strength to Los Angeles.

Uncertainty

There is a direct relationship between our ability to withstand uncertainty and our success. Uncertainty is uncomfortable. Often, we want to know so that we can make a plan. The trick is to become the certainty that you seek.

The best thing you can do is foster a belief that no matter what happens, no matter how challenging or disruptive or out of left field something is, you will always figure it out. Not only that, you will turn it into a success.

When you stop worrying about whether you’re making the right decision and instead develop the character to handle any and all things, you find that you have excellent solutions, ideas, or tools that will help you find an even better answer.

A Series of Tweets as Life Tips

Routine becoming ritual is the new goal for everything I do.

Correct.

It really just takes 30 minutes a day. The problem is 30 minutes doesn’t feel big enough. It feels inconsequential some days, and so we let it slide. And that’s how you find yourself in the same place months or years later. Start today.

What a year. Love you, bye!