What It’s Like To Be a Cali Girl Livin’ in a Southern World℠
“I'm just a Cali Girl Livin' in a Southern World℠” is how my latest single opens. I wrote the start of this song while driving in Nashville one day (sometimes at the oddest times, song lyrics will come to you). At this point in my life, I just moved from California to Nashville about four months earlier, and the reality of that move was just syncing in. In some ways, I was a bit of an odd fish in the South.
As the lyrics continued to flood my brain, I realized just how many differences there were between these two regions— everything from food differences to mannerisms, and ways that we conduct ourselves. I’ve lived in other areas before and felt an adjustment, especially when I lived in England and Spain. But this was different because I knew I was going to make Nashville my forever home, so I not only had to adjust to the differences but embrace them wholeheartedly.
When I traveled back to Nashville from California shortly after I started writing this song, a gentleman from a car service picked me up from the airport to take me back to my apartment building. After he put my bags in the car and I settled into my seat, he looked at me and asked, "Where are you from?" I replied, "Oh, I'm from California." And then he said, "Ah, I knew there was something different about you, the way you carry yourself." That sealed the deal—I am a Cali Girl Livin’ in a Southern World℠. I will always be different and that's okay.
One aspect I've truly appreciated while living in the South is the pace of life, it’s completely different here. In Silicon Valley, we often find ourselves chasing the next big thing and tech runs at a rapid pace. Southerners seem to have it figured out; you don't need to run as fast to enjoy life. Slowing down has been a complete but welcomed adjustment. I don't need to scrape for every second just to get one more second ahead of the next person. I can actually take the time to build relationships and talk to people with intention, not thinking about whether they will drain my time. It's something that I will always cherish. I find that I function better here than in the whirlwind of Silicon Valley, something I recognized as soon as I got off the plane in September 2019. The South likes me and I like the South :)
As the song continues, there are other nods about being a Californian trying to fit into Southern culture. But this isn't just a song for Californians—this is a song for everyone who has ever moved to a different location, different job, or different team, and adjusting. There are always adjustment periods where you are trying to feel out how to fit in, what you will adopt of the new culture, what you will leave behind, and what you will bring to this new culture. This song is for those transition periods where you realize that you are not in the same place that you once were, that things have definitely changed, and most likely are not going back to what they were.
I had so many alternate lyrics for this song, the list was endless as were the differences. But I suppose the most important takeaway is the similarities. I've found many over the last two years. For as different as we are, we are both the same. And I suppose that is a greater commentary on our culture at large: We are all human and part of this thing called humanity.
So for this Cali Girl Livin' in a Southern World℠, who doesn't understand it all, especially with that drawl, I want you to know what you don't know will become more clear the longer you immerse yourself in a new culture. As I write in the song, “Be open to yourself ‘cause there ain't no one else who likes some sweet tea to get a bit of clarity but I'll show you the way to find the real me, so just relax a while, slow down, and take your time.”
Take the time to connect with others, communities outside of your own, and maybe, just maybe, you'll see that our differences are rooted in similarities :)
Just relax, slow down, and take your time.