appreciate

you know what's sad... i've lived in LA my whole life but there are soo many parts of LA that i haven't seen!

i am currently at the urth caffe in downtown art district (which btw, if you guys ever go, is in the middle of nowhere) and riding the bus here was super interesting. i went through downtown LA along figueora (which is right by USC), got off my first bus right in front of pershing square (where the 500 days of summer bench is), and walked like a block down to my next bus stop (somewhere in what was called "old bank district").

it's crazy to see the variety of people that chill in LA. i got a lot of weird looks when i was walking from bus stop to bus stop because i was pretty much the only asian there.. and also the only person that looked under 30.. and one of the few not homeless people.. and now here at urth, i am sitting amongst all the hipsters (and wannabe hipsters) of LA (sidenote: it is impressive to see the wide range of customers that urth draws in. for instance, i am sitting next to the biggest tumblr/ social media freaks everr). we drove through skid row, toy district, and fashion district, and it's incredible to see the hordes of people just milling around.

there are sooo many people in LA. it is mind blowing. but even MORE mind blowing is how LA is such a small part of the world. if there are that many people in LA then can you even IMAGINE how many people are in the world?!

sorry if it isn't that exciting to you. it's REALLY exciting to me..

also, while bus-ing through LA i noticed how beautiful the architecture is. i LOVE oldish architecture. those high buildings with bricks and randomly intricate designs and fire escapes. sure, most of them were.. crumbling. but it looked so awesome. and to think they've been around before even our grandparents were born. it made me wonder what kind of people lived in those houses back then, what kind of people worked there.. how did LA look way back when?
i always wish i got to live in the past.. i cant imagine what it would've been like

i was talking to my dad about this the other day but it's pretty humbling to think that of all the places in the world, God placed me (and kept me) in a city as amazing as los angeles. have you ever seen the downtown LA skyline on a really clear day? it's beautiful. a huge cluster of manmade architecture and urbanity set against a backdrop of God's magnificent creation. you see the san bernadino mountains and every little curve of the land. crazy.

i was admiring it and telling my dad how we're so lucky and he, of course, responded with his usual brief wisdom-packed words. he said, God put us exactly where we are for a reason. so it's our job to keep requesting that God reveals what his plans for us are and then pursue them with everything we have. of all the billions of people in the world. got placed me, michelle bai, in palos verdes, in los angeles, at USC, at TFPC for a reason!

crazy. and you really start appreciating where you are, what you're doing. even horrendous papers and work.

aside: there are so many cute little treasures of landmarks in LA.. i am determined to spend at least one summer just appreciating all of LA heheho. my view of LA has changed so much.