Two years ago, as I was approaching my final days of college, Los Angles was on my list of cities never to call home. Freeways, smog, masses of people, Hollywood and concrete. It was enough to make my list, without having spent much time there.

My feet were chasing after a more natural setting; an open field where I could twirl, accompanied only by crickets, butterflies and a few lone squirrels. Or maybe a farm where I could finally succeed in having a cow for a friend.

I came to this city to gain experience in a field I knew little about. To establish some connections, contacts, or whatever it is that seems to always creep its way to the top of our portfolio. It’s always about who you know, right? I thought I would stay for four months. This was my launching point to what else was out there.

Today, I find myself in Downtown Los Angeles. A resident for almost two years, without any intention of leaving. Oh life.

Perhaps we are always searching for the life we think we should have, instead of letting things unfold and allowing the beautiful randomness to create opportunities we would have never dreamed of. Often enough, I get the question, “so what do you actually want to do in life?”

I want to always ask them, “why is it you are not doing this?”

Truth is, I’m doing everything I could ever hope to be doing. And that’s something.

In the concrete streets of Los Angeles, barren and exposed, I’ve found home.

Gathering together, no matter how large or small the group, allows for the free exchange of differing opinions and backgrounds. I’ll be the first to tell you that peace in Congo will not come from big names on big stages. It will come from you. From communities that mobilize. From the middle schoolers, college professors, janitors, and grandmothers. In the weeks to come, I will bring you into my lair and the world we at Falling Whistles have come to identify as the Congregate spoke on the wheel.

We can’t wait to share some of their stories.

With love,

Brittany