Finding Home

This week I had two amazing experiences when I was able to check out two places that I may get to live. I’m moving out of my current place around March 1st and instead of rushing last minute I have started searching now. My current roommates are amazing and I will miss them, I never got as close to them as I would have liked due to my own personality and work situation, but the few times I had hanging with them were great. It isn’t often you will come home to a Buffy The Vampire Slayer marathon or can discuss police raids where everyone has personal experiences. I am optimistic though that wherever I end up next it will be an amazing chapter in my life.

The two places I have checked out so far share the same spirit but have some stark differences… and I love them both. The first place was a co-op near USC filled with some of the most passionate, friendly, and eccentric people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I could feel the positive and motivated vibe to change the world radiate from every person I met. The welcomed me in, talked to me, and even let me participate in a figure drawing session they were having. I don’t think I have ever put pencil to paper in an artistic way but I actually had a really good time trying… I am a sucker for new experiences and it really opened my eyes to the visual arts. This is a home with many people who dumpster dive, have vegan dinners together, go to protests, host parties, art events, and respect all peaceful self-expression. This is a sex-positive home where the who in “who do you love” means the individual and not the gender.

The second place was near Culver City and had fewer people filled with a calm serenity. The current occupants are burners, festival-goers, fire dancers, mermaids, and acrobats. The huge yard has fruits, herbs, vegetables, and chickens spread about creating an atmosphere of sustainability and harmony. I fell in love with it instantly when I saw the colored lights up in the trees and the warmth of those who live there. I almost bypassed social norms and went straight in for a hug instead of a handshake. This is a place where personal intimacy, meditation, and balance is absorbed through every pore.

Both places are amazing and reflect the values that I pursue: peace, love, intimacy, and balance. They are yin and yang, action and inaction, adrenaline and seratonin… and my spirit would be happy at either one. I think I made a good impression but that normal fear creeps up into me, I was too shy, nervous, and introverted to let my light shine through. While I hope that I have the opportunity to live in one of these places I am not worried, even if they both find someone who fits better than me (not surprisingly there are many people looking to live in each place) it gives me such joy to know these peaceful sanctuaries exist that accept people for who they are. Places that would accept a peaceful, poly, happy, sex-positive, open, person like me with all my scars, experiences, and aspirations.