LA Women's March

Hey! I'm sitting at the dining room table in my friend Nicole's apartment in Santa Barbara. We were roommates freshman year in the dorms at UC Davis (along with two other girls) and we thought it was about time to catch up! I drove up yesterday - a lovely sunset drive along the coast - and will be here 'til Friday. I've never really visited SB. I got into the UC here and we drove through campus when I was 17 during our road trip to Mexico, but that's all I've seen. She's in grad school here and has some classes and meeting throughout the day so I'll probably do a bit of solo exploring.

Last weekend was the national Women's March and I've been dying to share these photos. It was amazing to see so many people of every different gender, color, and creed come together to voice their support of one another. My faith has been restored in human goodness. After marching we listened to a few speeches and and performances ... I cried during Andra Day's performance of Rise that seemed so perfect for the occasion. After that we headed to an Ethiopian spot downtown and then took the metro back to Long Beach. It was a wonderful Saturday. 

xx 

Mariamma

Just a Thursday

Thursday thoughts: I went through quite an identity shift this summer. People who are getting to know me now - as opposed to a year and a half ago when I moved down to LA - see me in ways I have never been seen before. I think being humbled by life events during my first year in Southern California has made me so much stronger, more decisive, more communicative, more happy! Having this new part of me at the forefront makes navigating through each day an adventure. I pleasantly surprise myself constantly. I am very aware of myself. This is such a relief after having jobs and relationships that encouraged or required a certain numbing of my soul. I feel alive. I feel like me. I feel like I can take a breath and there's no rush to exhale. I can just exist as I am. Isn't it silly that we don't always feel like that? I knew I'd get here, and I am so glad I was right.

Love

Mariamma