Welcome to The Adventures of a Hippie in Southern California

Welcome to The Adventures of a Hippie in Southern California. Born and raised in Northern California, I never thought of myself as a hippie. In NorCal, there are basically two kinds of hippies. The first are the druggie kids who wish they lived in the '70s. They try to recreate the era by smoking copious amounts of weed while listening to Bob Marley, dressing somewhat ruggedly, and growing the occasional beard. Then there are the Berkeley hippies. They grow their own food, make their own soap, and sew their own clothes. So when I came down to USC and was called a hippie, I didn't get it. In some ways I've started to embrace this title (hence the name of my blog). My mom was a hippie back when the romantic notion of a hippie was first established: a flower child with flowing hair and a wild spirit. If my role model was a hippie, it seems fitting I should be too. I'm still unsure of what makes me a hippie but I guess it runs in my blood.

Flower Child

Before you read further, I have a confession. I always thought of myself as very liberal, open-minded and accepting. After all I grew up near San Francisco, the gay capital of America. I was in for a huge shock when I moved to Southern California. Marin County is overwhelmingly liberal and also not very religious. There were a lot of Jews in my high school, a few Christians, and a Buddhist or two but religion wasn't a big part of anyone’s lives. I distinctly remember my freshman year roommate telling her brother that it was okay that he had smoked weed as long as he went to confessional. I was speechless. This was my first real encounter with devout Catholics. In this case, I don't think he did anything wrong so for arguments sake, let's say he cheated on a test. How does confessing your "sin" to some man through a curtain make what you did okay? Since that eye-opening experience, I have met many more religious people at USC. There are lots of people who attend mass every Sunday and those who don't but look up to people who do as role models and good people. I have never once in my life considering going to church an admirable quality. I'm not saying I view it as a bad thing, I just never saw it as a good thing either. Another slightly embarrassing confession, before coming to USC I really believed that religious, conservatives only existed in the middle of the country. Then I met people whose parents wouldn't allow them to live with someone who was gay.

I've come to realize that I wasn't open-minded because I believe in freedom to marry, women's rights, and a more progressive tax structure. I was closed-minded because I didn't recognize the part of our population who are religious, conservative, and just plain different from me. It's important to know people whose beliefs differ from yours because they keep you on your toes. They force you to think critically and improve your arguments and defend of your beliefs. Without them, we would get lazy.

So this is my blog. My way of sharing my beliefs, my thoughts, and my adventures as a hippie in Southern California.