If I could I would stay!!

The days did indeed fly by! I cannot believe five months have passed by. I can still remember the weeks before I came to Cali being nervous and scared about not having a good time in Cali. But I did! I really had the best time of my life so far! Beyond words! I laughed, I cried, I danced, I smiled, met people, new friends and learned about myself, friendships and love. Yes about Love... Not like you think. I did not fall in love with a guy or a human being but instead I fell in love with this place. Orange County, California or even the whole country. I know that many people have prejudices about this country. They say people are fake, crazy and not organized. I feel sorry for everyone who feels or thinks that way. You should come here and see yourself because after my five months in Cali I can't confirm that statement. I met some of the most real, honest, thankful, life-loving and organized people here. Incredible people who's spirit is beyond everything I've seen so far. I feel home here, I don't want to leave this place. I feel understood, accepted for who I am and supported no matter how crazy my ideas are. Everything is possible! Being tense, feeling pressure and being stressed does not bring you anywhere it makes things worse. Just enjoy the here and now and don't worry to much about what, when where, why, how... IT WILL WORK OUT! how? when? where? why? ...I DON'T KNOW! JUST BELIEVE IT WILL! --> I know this sounds so cheesy but it is true.. how do I know? I experienced it. I've been through both situations,I know how it feels like to be under pressure because things have to work out in a certain way and forcing them to happen and but I've also learned to trust in things to happen in the way they are supposed to happen. It was a new experience to just let all the fear and pressure go and believe that the right thing will happen, but it always worked out.

Five months... looking back on it I've seen, done and experienced sooo much. I came here with almost nothing. All I had was a rental car (only for a while), my clothes and an unpaid internship. But everything worked out better than I could ever expect it to.

I found a great place to stay (thanks to my dear friend Jason!!) with awesome roommates who've accepted me the way I am and I think also enjoyed my stay (at least I hope they did ;))! We laughed, smiled, danced, cooked Spätzle (or how Shanelle always says -->Schnitzel) and drank one or two glasses of wine together. I had a great time with them! Thank you Shanelle and Mike, for giving me a place where I felt safe, home and welcome. 

I managed to buy a car which drove me a couple of miles all through the country --> From and to work (obviously), San Diego (three times), San Fransisco, Kirkwood, Riverside, Laguna Beach(can't even count how often I drove there), St. Clemente, La Verne, Las Vegas (twice <3), Los Angeles: I had two more stops where my beloved car could unfortunately not take me. One is Salt Lake City Utah (Or better Deer Valley and Park City) and the other one is Phoenix Arizona... I am trying to sell it and I needed to get a rental car to take me to Phoenix(...bummer I bet my lil shitty car would have loved to bring me to AZ). Anyway, I am sooo happy it did not break down. It was red (urgh not my color...), shitty and the sound system was horrible... the one thing I need when I am driving... good, loud music. But nooooo my speakers liked teasing me by just playing a horrible sound and sometimes not playing anything at all. Those speaker even gave me a bruise on my knee, because I had to slam my knee against the it very hard to make it work again. But it was OK the most important thing was that it took me everywhere I wanted to go!

There is one more thing I have to do before I leave this country or how I like to call it --> Paradise! I want to thank all the incredible people who crossed my way during my stay. I hope some of you will not just forget about me but instead maybe remember the great times we had together!

First of all I have to thank my parents for allowing me to come here and helping me financially!! Thanks Mom and Dad I could not have done it without you. And I am so happy that you came and visited me! I had a great time showing you around! 

Also a big thanks to DC Shoes (or better Quiksilver Europe), especially Mark, Juan, Kati and Peter who made it possible for me to get an internship in the United States even though they normally don't send students from Germany to America. I feel honored and appreciate what you've done for me. I had a great time in the office, met a lot of people and learned a lot about this company. Megan, Jon (a special thanks for all the lunch breaks we spent together), Corinne, Steve, Mel, Niki, Kallie, Eldo, Chris, Ryan, Josh, Alice, Sherrie Ane it would have not been the same without you - Thank you all so much. 

When I left Germany a bunch of people told me they will come for a visit. But most of the time those words don't mean anything, which is fine I didn't expect anyone to fly across the world for me. And still some people did it and I appreciate that sooo much! --> Michi, Robin, Mom, Dad, Linda and Anja, I had such a great time with all of you! Miriam I am so happy we coincidentally met again, that you are back in my life and that you became an awesome friend to me.

Sorry guys I am not done with my "thank yous" yet. Many people crossed my way either at parties, through family friends or just people I met along the way. I really want to tell you that I had a great time with you and you are one reason why I will never forget this trip. --> Keith S., Tom, Brave, Del Col Family, Bedonna, Björn, Fritz, Macy, Heidi, Manuela, Acirema (thanks for all the fun surf sessions), Keith T., Flip (and the rest of Rubber Bean), Lisa, Dillan, Audrey, Normi, Jona, Noah, Brian, Joey, Chris, Bobby, Josh and many more.

I blogged several times about them, I danced a lot, drank a lot and partied even more with them... I guess you already know who I am talking about ... JUP... WEIRD IS THE NEW COOL! Kenny, Nate, Tim, Kyle, Cash and Omni I am so happy I accidentally ran into you in Vegas. I think my trip would have not been as much fun if I would have not met you. Vegas would have not been the same and I hope it is not true that everything that happens in Vegas stays there, cause I would really like to keep those unique friendship for the rest of my life. You make great music and I wish you all the best for the future and I will always support your music! 

Stevie, Jason, Aidan and Peter

Last but not least the hardest part of all the "thank yous" and goodbyes I want to make. I cant even find the right words to thank Stevie, Jason and Aidan for everything they have done for me the last couple of months. It is really hard for me not to cry while typing this, because these are the three people I will miss most! They are not just friends... they became my family, my west coast mommy, my west coast daddy and my lil west coast brother. I was always welcome in their house, could bring my friends, I lend their car and their surfboards, ate their food, spent all kinds of holidays with them, went on skiing trips, drank wine, had a lot of parties and most important I felt loved by them. Like I already said it felt like my family, like being at home! I cannot give back what all three of them gave to me during the last few months and it makes me cry thinking about all the good times we had together, not because I am sad but because I am happy that all this happened to me and because I am thankful for everything. Stevie, Jason and Aidan I will miss you so bad and I hope we will meet again soon! THANK YOU I could have not done all this without you. You are a great family with awesome personalities and a great spirit I appreciate everything you have done for me!!! I LOVE YOU!!! 

Ok This is it. I am done with saying thank you. Now it is time to say goodbye... First I want to say goodbye to.... Hahah just kidding I will not say goodbye to each one of you! :) And actually I will not say goodbye to anyone but instead I will say SEE YOU SOON! Because goddbye is forever but I hope I'll see some of you again soon.I know that some will go their way and maybe not cross my path ever again, but others might reappear and become a bigger chapter in the story of my life! I will never forget about each one of you tho! You made this trip sp special for me.

All in all this really was the time of my life. I grew a lot and I guess I will never stop growing. I really don't think I have found the true me yet which means, there will be a lot more to talk about. For this I will keep on writing this blog. I will keep you posted what goes on in my life. I hope you will still follow me and go through fun and probably also rough times with me and maybe learn from or with me. 

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