I'm Not a California Girl--I'm a Reno Girl!

I always thought of myself as a California Girl at heart; turns out, I'm not.

My boyfriend, Colin, is from LA and he's definately a California guy--at least in some ways. And while he may be more open about the realities of the world (as in, less knieve than I am), he is SO California when it comes to certain things.

I always considered myself a liberal gal, politically speakin, not so much anymore. I'm definately not a Liberal, and I'm definately not a Conservative; I'm very much in fact a Moderate--middle of the road. I don't like the extremes of either side, and both of those extremeties irk me off. Is "irk" a word, I think it is.

Colin and I had a long heated debate on Friday afternoon about politics and religion. I can agree to disagree, and it's not about being right, but you know, now I understand why they say don't ever discuss "politics & religion." We agree on some things concerning the two, we really do, and for that, I'm glad. But, we also have some major differences. I was worried about it, but now I'm not. Because in our everyday life, we're very compatiable.

I've always wanted someone to challange me, to teach me, to make me think about things, and good Lord, I got it! I love that Colin challanges me and makes me think. I learned so much about myself this weekend; mainly though, I learned that I really am a small-town girl at heart.

I have small-town values and a deep seated small-town hope. I see the world in a way more positive light than most people I know. I am so damn happy to be alive and I see joy and beauty in everything. I don't spend my life waiting for the big things, I enjoy (almost) every little thing along the way. I always knew that about me, but this weekend, I proved it to myself.

I don't think anything is hopeless, nothing at all. There's always hope, without hope, we have nothing.

I learned that I'm proud of where I come from, I'm glad I was born and raised in "the biggest little city in the world." I have small-town values; I have small-town ethics, I think I have small-town accountablity. I think in general, people from small towns go one of two ways in life--they either completely rebel against it and wind up really messed up; or, they are goody-two shoes because in a small-town, word travels fast. (I'm the latter in case you haven't figured that out!) Well, Reno wasn't incredibly small, it was large enough to have strangers, but not large enough to be totally unaware of everything around you.

Where I come from has shaped who I am. I used to think I was born in the wrong place, like "oh, I'm from Reno, big deal." Well, it IS a big deal. I'm so proud of that now, and I never was before.

I love that I grew up in a town that small enough to be friendly and kind and have a varried mix of political views. You'll find a lot of Conservatives in Reno, but you'll also find a lot of Liberals. You'll find the big chain stores like Wal-Mart, Target and so on, but you'll also find the little mom-and-pop shops too. In Reno, some people are friendly, others are just plain rude, I think that's anywhere though. But, my point is, I think I had the best of both worlds growing up in Reno. I was taught about the simple things and the fine appreciation of nature and the simpler way of life. If you look at the West in general, espeically in Nevada, it's really about living off the land and nothing else. While I would never consider myself a cowgirl or redneck at all, I'm glad I can appreicate their way of life too. There's something beautiful and simplisitic about it. I may whole heartedly disagree with their political beliefs, but I'm glad I grew up around them. I can also appreicate the finer things in life, but I don't need them to be content. It's nice to have cars and big homes and nice things around, but at the end of the day (and the end of our lives), it's really about the people. I love that I grew up with a garden and Farmer's Markets and little small town festivals and a County Fair every summer! I love that I grew up in a town where I wasn't subjected to "four hour newscasts, three of which talk about nothing but shootings." I don't think I've ever felt truly safe anywhere I was, but looking back on it, I felt safer in Reno than I do in Vegas.

Truthfully, the farmer's market thing, California totally has us beat out on that one! One of my favorite things about California is the abundance of fresh produce and agricultural overflow; the wines, the apples, the citruses, etc, etc. I LOVE IT ALL! I love the scenic GREEN beauty of California. The ocean, the beaches. The different climates. I love the sheer mix of people in California and the change of seasons in Northern California. I love the ambition of California--always looking to the horizion. And I still consider San Francisco my second home town as most of my 32 surgeries were performed there. But, SF isn't like the rest of California. It's really small, compartively speaking and it's kind of an island. I miss it to this day. But, I'm glad I didn't spend all of my childhood there.

My ponit is, yes, I love California. In some ways, I am very Californian. But, mostly, I'm just a simple, small town native Nevadan from Reno. I'm a Renoian and I'm darn proud of it!

Sure, I may be a bit knieve sometimes, and perhaps I wasn't exposed to all walks of life living in Reno. And I certainly do not miss the freezing cold winters I endured there, either. But, I am who I am for a lot of reasons, and where I grew up is one of them!

Let me make it clear that I'm not dissing any Californian whatsoever. My boyfriend, and most of my friends, are one of them. They are more street-smart, more realistic about the way the world really works, a little bit tougher and a lot more Liberal. They are good-hearted people who, in my experience, always want to contribute the world in some way. (I can't necessarily say that about Nevadans).

I love Colin, and I love who he is: passionate, intense, steadfast in his beliefs, thoughtful, kind, loyal, I could go on and on. But, I also love who I am too.

It has been said that in order to love someone else, or let someone else love you, you must first learn to love yourself.

The more I'm with Colin, the more I love the both of us.

I'm not trying to be arrogant or cocky or come across as the girl who's totally in love with herself. I have my flaws and faults--we all do. But overall, I'm a good person. I have a very healthy outlook on life. And I finally have a man who has those two things in common with me! Sure, we're from two different worlds. But that's what makes this so interesting and fun! We learn from one another, we teach one another. He's imparting some big-city experiences on me and I hope some of my small-town ways are rubbing off on him.

I love who each of us are, and I love who we are together!

I thank God everyday for the never boring relationship with the great man that I've been blessed with! And thank you Lord for everything else too!

In Light N' Love,
-Sarah Liz :)