"It's California's Fault!"
by Jamie Allen Bishop
Written 3/31/2020
When I moved away from my home state at 21-years-old, I knew I would never live in Southern California again. I had myself convinced, and lots of friends and family to agree with me, that it's too expensive, the people are too shallow, and it's definitely not a place to raise a family.
I was wrong.
Turns out, I was blaming California - the whole state - for some seriously messed up experiences I had in the months leading up to my departure.
You see, in just a few months: my parents announced their divorce; my younger brother dropped out of high school and came to live with me; my long-term high school sweetheart's dad committed suicide; he broke up with me within two weeks of that tragic event - just before he had emergency surgery; my mom had to have a serious surgery; I was being stalked by a customer; my coworker murdered his girlfriend; my new boyfriend started abusing me; and, I was kicked out of my university.
I felt broken, humiliated, and angry. What the heck did I do to deserve all that in such a short period of time?
Looking back at all the chaos and mayhem (and I've only mentioned a tiny portion of it in this article), makes me feel like a superhero.
In the last 28 years, I've lived in eight different states, participated in more than 25 different jobs, been married twice, divorced once, given birth to a child, moved back to Southern California, and finally found my soul's career purpose/passion.
My point is this: I could blame myself. I could blame any number of the people who helped me experience the tragedies, but no matter what each of us has been through, the story we focus on telling is the story that defines our life experience - right now. If my focus was on my past, I would likely be living a life of frustration, sadness, resentment, and regret.
With empowered support from mentors, family, friends, and colleagues, I have learned the value of how our thoughts affect our life experience. My choice is to focus on right here, right now. My choice is to focus on the difference I am making in the world around me. My choice is to focus on all the truly amazing experiences I am bringing to everyone who knows me. I am living this amazing lifestyle with an incredible husband, a beautiful child, and the most amazing support system a woman could request.
California is the best place to live, and I am so glad to be back! Thank you, California, for having patience enough to allow me the time to realize: it was never your fault.
Warmly,
Jamie Allen Bishop, MA
Website: http://www.soulheartentertainment.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoulHeartEnter1
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jamieabishop/
