So youāre thinking about moving to a new place to pursue your dreams. Youāve entertained the idea once, twice, maybe even a hundred times. But youāre scared, even terrified to say it out loud. Or maybe youāre not. Maybe youāre one of those creatives who are blessed with an unwavering belief in themselves, has had a plan since Day 1 and nothing can deter you from it. Good for you! For real, Iām happy for you cause that shit is rare! But let me tell you, I wasnāt one of those people. My name is Julia. Iām a 26 year- old singer-songwriter from Toronto whoās been living in Los Angeles for the last year and four months. It is everything and nothing I imagined it would be.
Iāve always known music was my path in life. I worked professionally in the Toronto music scene for several years, made a good income and a solid reputation for myself. I was starting to become reaaaaally comfortable and didnāt like it. As Iāve gotten older, Iāve come to recognize that when I become complacent, I know itās time to move on. I didnāt feel challenged anymore and knew if I wanted to grow, something needed to change. LA had always been in the back of my mind but started to become a reality in 2017.
Iāll be the first to admit, I was very fortunate with my situation. I knew the right people who knew the right people. Everything seemed to fall perfectly into place, almost as if I was being handed a life in LA on a silver platter ā because I was. And although I was grateful, the Shitty Committee in my head kept saying, āJulia, this is way too easy. You havenāt earned it. Are you sure you deserve this?ā It took me a long time to quiet that voice but eventually I did. Because I had earned it and if the Universe didnāt want me to have this, it wouldnāt have given it to me so effortlessly. I packed up my life and moved to Los Angeles on December 30th, 2017.
My first year in LA was difficult. Mentally and emotionally, it challenged me in ways I hadnāt been challenged before. I was lonely. Like, really lonely. I try not to throw around the word ādepressionā loosely, but if I wasnāt depressed I was probably very close. My life in LA wasnāt unfolding like I expected it to. I didnāt realize how long it takes to make friends when you move to a new city. How could I? Iād never moved to a new city before. I would gig on Saturdays (for those unfamiliar with US visas, you canāt legally do anything else outside of your visa to make money) and then have to fill up my time in the other six days of the week. To put it simply, I got bored realfast. You can only practice and be creative for so many hours every day. On top of that, I couldnāt afford to live outside of my means, which made solitude feel like my only option.
Four months into my second year and itās slowly but surely getting better. Iām still not where I want to be but I feel like Iāve definitely made it to the other side of that dark place. Let me be clear ā although itās been hard, Iāve never once thought to myself, āThis was a mistake. I should go homeā, because LA is my home now. I am home. This was the change in pace and energy that I needed, that I was longing for back in Toronto. Thereās no doubt in my mind that this is exactly where Iām supposed to be and despite the challenges, Iām grateful every day that Iām here.
So if youāre thinking about moving to a new place to pursue your dreams, itās totally worth it. I promise you that your journey will differ from mine. Maybe youāll get a silver platter and maybe you wonāt. It doesnāt matter. Remember that your path is uniquely yours and no one can take what is meant for you. You can literally do anything you want in this world and I hope after reading this, you jump in with both feet.
Love, Julia.
Julia Carlucci is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is now based in Los Angeles, California. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.Ā
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