Everyone has a dream or a goal in life. Whether it is to obtain fame or riches matters not but it is how we as individuals go about achieving our hopes and dreams. It is in this that we derive great satisfaction in our successes as we stand atop the great mountain of achievement and look down on all that we have overcome. Obtaining ones ambitions requires work and perseverance, in the land of California we seem to be surrounded with infinite possibilities as to what we can achieve, but many do not realize this and take it for granted as they flee to other places in search of their dream only to then realize that they had left it behind.
In James Rawls" essay "California: A Place, A People, A Dream", Rawls gives his interpretation of the "California dream", as well as identifies the paradoxes that are often associated with that dream. He says that "The California Dream is a love affair with an idea, a marriage to a myth, a surrender to a collective fantasy." This true because there is so much about California that can often at times seem surreal. Los Angeles for example is the self-proclaimed glamour capital of the world; it is like a city-state with a huge melting pot of people, cultures and languages. People link its name to all that's new, cool and hip. Los Angeles has been referred to as "The city of manufactured illusion" by film Director Curtis Hanson; after all it gave birth to the movies and the movie star culture. Many try and copy the trends and lifestyle, and mimic the slang. It's where some say the California Dream turns into the American, if not the world Dream. I often equate California to fantasy myself and I suppose that is what caused me to leave but also prompted me to return. .
My experience in California has been one of love and hate, being a native Californian I must say that I love the weather and the beach but at the same time I hate the general climate and the inability to escape from the mass hysteria of daily life in Southern California.