“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

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Frequently, we stay in areas that are comfortable for us, places that we know. One of my favorite Youtube channels, Yes Theory, encourages their audience to “Seek Discomfort.” In other words, go beyond their comfort zone and explore the world that awaits them.

For this post, I decided to “Seek Discomfort” and travel to Los Angeles with a few friends of mine. Although Chapman is relatively close to the City of Angels, I have yet to go into the heart of Hollywood and explore the booming city that is filled with lively streets, beautiful views, and a plethora of tourist attractions.

Pictures from my trip to Los Angeles.

Going into this project, I thought that Los Angeles was remarkably similar to New York City. After all, they are the two biggest cities in the nation. However, after going to Los Angeles, I can confidently say that they are nothing alike. For starters, the first thing that I noticed was that Los Angeles has hilly areas. With beautiful spots that overlook the entire city. New York is entirely flat, with little to no trees, hills, or grassy areas (excluding Central Park). For the purpose of this project, I decided to only focus on the most “touristy” spots.

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The streets of Los Angeles (Left). The streets of New York (Right).

Walking down Hollywood Boulevard was an exciting experience. Although I spent most of my time looking down as I walk above the names of many Hollywood Legends, I did notice a lot about the area. For instance, most of the stores were tourist spots, filled with unique souvenirs. As I walked past a plethora of restaurants, I was hit with the sweet smell of pastries, fresh from the oven. However, something that saddened me was the amount of trash, more specifically single-use plastics, being left on the streets.

This experience was extremely different than that of walking through Times Square. Los Angeles is quite busy, but nowhere near New York City. Walking around, I didn’t feel like an outsider.

Photos taken on Hollywood Blvd.

One thing I noticed was more tourists in Los Angeles. Although I did specifically go to the “touristy” spots, I saw far more people taking photos of famous landmarks and places. Even in the most tourist-filled spots of New York City, I felt like most people I saw were on their way to work, with their briefcases in hand.

I ended my trip to Los Angeles by attempting to go to Griffith Park to overlook the city as nightfall was upon us. Sadly, everyone was there that night, because there was nowhere for us to park our car. However, something I noticed from the car was the heavy air pollution visible from the top of the hill. When I asked my friend, who is from Los Angeles, about it she affirmed that we were “lucky that it wasn’t worse.” I was completely taken back by her statement. I couldn’t help but think about what it would look like if we had been unlucky.

Air pollution is not a prevalent issue in New York City, so I am not used to seeing a dense cloud hanging low above the bright lights of the city. As we drove down from the top of the hill, I kept thinking about how “normal” it is for smog, and how bad it is for our health as well as our environment. There has to be ways to fix this problem.

Pictures from our evening. (L to R) Taking pictures in front of the famous Paul Smith Wall, the only view I was able to see as we drove through Griffith, The LACMA Lights. 

Overall, despite the large amount of pollution, I have to say that I do like Los Angeles better. Although New York City has been part of my life since I was a young child, I feel as if I fit into the Los Angeles culture. There are a plethora of different people and cultures present in Los Angeles, from the tourists taking pictures in front of the Hollywood Sign to the locals walking to work. Although I was in Los Angeles for less than half a day, I felt notably familiar with my surroundings, as if I had been there in the past.