106) OG Theory

It's common knowledge that we use comparisons to try to make sense of the world around us. When we are faced with something unfamiliar, our first instinct is to try to compare it to something we know. How many times have you heard someone you've recently met say, "You remind me so much of this girl/guy I knew..." Or to help someone understand a neighborhood - "It's sort of like [insert doppelganger neighborhood] in [insert familiar city]." (Silverlake is the Williamsburg of LA, for example.) People, places, things - we liken them to things we know in order to grasp them. In my head I call this the OG (original gangster) theory. For example, LA is my OG city that I compare every other city to. (Photo of one of my favorite places to sit and read in Santa Monica.)

This month in Barcelona has been full of comparisons. The city, people and culture have all been measured against Los Angeles at one point or another. I do the same thing when I think about moving to New York. I try to compare what my life would be like there versus how it is now. What I've realized is that sometimes it doesn't make sense to make comparisons. How can I try to weigh a life in LA against a life in NY, when LA is all I know? There's something to be said about appreciating people, places and things sans context, and being open to the possibility that these things have the potential to become part of our comparison system - to become an OG.