The Inside Scoop from A Freed Californian.

quote by Mark Twain 

I have recently made a fascinating discovery about myself and my west coast upbringing, and it's all thanks to traveling.

 We've been making our way into the south (We're in Tennessee!) and the people we've met here have been so incredibly nice! We stopped at this little co-op when we arrived in Kentucky and when we told the owners there about our travels, they gave us the nicest welcome ever: "Welcome to Kentucky! You should move here, we would love to have you, we're really nice here, welcome!" And we've gotten that kind of welcome multiple times. Dad has had constant conversations when he's working outside on the RV; someone always comes over to chat.

And besides the wonderful people, the landscape is just stunning, especially now that we're in the Appalachians in Autumn. I can't tell you how much I love it here already, moreso than almost any other place I've lived, including my home state of California. I've said countless times as we drive around "I could totally live here" (I was practically yelling the exact opposite the entire time through Idaho, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa - SO FLAT. I'm sorry middle states, I personally need trees and mountains and less corn.)

Now what I've recently realized is how. . . snobby the west coast culture is. (I am totally guilty of this.) "West Coast Swagger" as I just overheard Mom say.  When you live in the west coast states (California, Oregon, and Washington) you know that you are in the best place in the whole world and there is no reason to ever leave or go anywhere because you know it just won't compare to the redwoods or beaches or mountains or great cities like San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.
"You're going to Kentucky? Why would you ever go there? There's nothing to do there! Geesh just come back to Mother California where all is perfect and the best. ((*hums Mother Knows Best*))"
When a visitor says this is their first time in California, you don't get "Welcome! We would love to have you, we're really nice here!" You actually get some sort of "Glad-you're-visiting-but-please-go-home-soon" message mixed with something like, "You're from where? I could never live there!"

I think that this comes from the fact that, throughout history, Californians have had to work really hard to get there. We had to cross hundreds of miles of flat nothingness, climbed Sierras, struggled across Death Valleys and many more troubles to reach the ultimate destination. We came for gold, with unfilled dreams, placing all our hopes into striking rich and living the good life. Why, after your ancestors worked so hard to get there, putting everything at risk for a sliver of hope, a bundle of ideals and dreams, would you ever want to go BACK, and undo all their work? I mean, you're already here right? I think that that mindset is a subconscious one that we're born with, having them passed down to us through our genes.

I have instantly judged the rest of the country for years with no basis for doing so. It's the west coast mother culture and I've finally started to see through it, and it is interestingly super-freeing, to be released from subconscious biases. When you suddenly realize that something you never questioned isn't true, you can love and accept everything more fully and quickly, which is a blessing for someone like me who loves to love.

Now don't get me wrong. I love my home side of the country as much as I love everything else in life and California really is a magnificent place with great wonders and amazing sites. But I am loving this side of the country just as much, if not more to be completely honest, and I'm not even finished exploring! It's so thrilling! Suddenly the Mark Twain quote makes so much sense. And I urge you to travel as much as you can, it is a freeing and mind-blowing experience, and I am so lucky to be able to learn this at this point in my life.

West Coast, I will be back, but not before I finished exploring the wonders of the rest of this continent, so that I can truly love it all.