I'm a California girl, born and raised. I never thought I would leave the state. Why would you? It's got everything a colorful hippie kid like me would ever want. I could visit the snow and the beach in the same day (that really isn't just something people say, you can do it!). I had access to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. But... escaping poverty was going to be hard with the rising prices. So in 2013, my boyfriend and I packed up our bags and headed to the only place we deemed wild enough to handle us... Las Vegas. Sometimes I am homesick for California. I was more likely to find people who believed in the same things I did, or atleast it felt like I would. The entire Southern half of the state felt like my home. I just know in my heart I will never have enough money to return and have the comfortable lifestyle I have grown accustomed to. California will always be a part of me.

“Secretly, I think everyone who makes fun of California really does want to be in California.” — Zooey Deschanel

all photographs are © shelly rae, fairytrash.neocities.org