30 Before 30: Los Angeles Edition

I've lived in the greater Los Angeles area my entire life, and while I've traveled to different cities all around the world, no place else feels quite like LA does. It's really quite lively but also quiet and private, it's this balance between putting your best face forward while also concealing how exactly it is you look so perfect all the time. This kind of life has disseminated itself in many ways, owing to the televised nature of the city. LA isn't a compact, close-knit city, but instead sprawls out over hillsides and into valleys and this topographical unrest airs itself out by dividing this great city into little neighborhoods, all of which offer a unique perspective to what it means to be a resident of the largest city on the West Coast.

Los Angeles is in my blood; it moves me. Seeing a Metro train rumble past Craftsman homes in Highland Park in the rain, hiking into Griffith Park and seeing the wide scope of the city all the way to the Pacific Ocean, following an urban staircase just to find out where it leads-- these experiences fulfill me, and often overwhelm me. 

I know many bloggers like to sort of take stock of their lives and make these "30 Before 30" lists, and I don't want to be the exemption. I'm not interested in settling down and raising a family, so instead I think I need to be active about nurturing my sense of curiosity in the world around me, the way one might nurture their own child. I have a more personal overarching "30 Before 30" list (with some sort-of embarrassing confessions that I have deemed nonpublishable!), but this list is related specifically to Los Angeles, and is my way of dedicating myself to being active in the city I've chosen to make my home (hopefully for a long time!).

Yes, there are many things I've already done in Los Angeles-- the LA Zoo, LACMA, Watts Towers, the Natural History Museum, the California Science Center, the Rose Bowl Flea Market, Olvera Street, Chinatown, Angel's Flight-- but there are plenty of things that I haven't done or seen, and that's where I want to direct my interest. I fully expect to add items to this list to complete, but for now this is where I'm setting my goals.

30 Before 30: Los Angeles Edition

1. Hike up to the Hollywood Sign
2. Visit the Heritage Square Museum
3. Ride public transportation from Downtown all the way to the Pacific Ocean
4. Ride the ferris wheel at Pacific Park at the Santa Monica Pier
5. Take a tour of the Smith Estate
6. Have a picnic at Grand Park, Downtown
7. Take a tour of the Los Angeles Central Library
8. Visit the Wilson Observatory
9. See a show at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
10. Take a tour of the Scientology Center
11. Visit the Museum of Jurassic Technology
12. Visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
13. Explore the underground tunnels in Downtown LA
14. Have a fancy cocktail at the Tiki-Ti
15. Go to an LA Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium
16. See a movie (or a concert!) at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
17. Ride the carousel at Griffith Park
18. Spend an evening at the Magic Castle
19. See a movie at the Silent Movie Theater
20. Buy a cupcake from the 24-Hour Cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcakes
21. Visit the Bhagavad-Gita Museum in Culver City
22. Go to a First Fridays at the Natural History Museum
23. See MOCA's permanent collection
24. Take the Classic Neon Cruise with the Museum of Neon Art
25. Create and erect/post my own street art/stencil
26. Visit The Broad
27. Go to Jumbo's Clown Room
28. Take a tour of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank
29. Go to a college football game (UCLA/USC/Rose Bowl -- not picky!)
30. Spend a day taking photos at Evergreen Memorial Park (See My Post About It!)

My idea and my goal is to take my camera along and document each of my thirty goals as I do them! I know that some will be more difficult to achieve than others, but I'm hoping that with the next two years and three months I can do my best to explore this amazing city .