When Kara was 10, her whole life changed in the blink of an eye. One day she was running about doing all the things a normal 10 year old does, to suddenly packing her bags up and moving to California. She always heard it was a dream to live in California. She was so excited and ready for this new adventure, believing in all the amazing things California could offer. Then comes June 6, 2014. It all became real. Her mom, sister and brother were all in a car, packed up, headed to California, saying goodbye to all her memories and her childhood home. She was sad, but also excited, while driving away from that house. It was hard for her to wrap her mind around leaving her childhood home. That house was where all the memories were made and big moments were had. Did California really hold her future, or just a stepping stone in a long journey called life?

August 7, 2014, Kara’s first day at her new school. Talk about being 10 and terrified. Wow, what a combo! California schools were very different then the traditional style she was accustomed to. She had attended school with the same group of children since kindergarten.  You know when you have to find a new favorite restaurant, because your lifetime favorite just closed?  It was like that for Kara.  She had to find a new place and learn to love the flavors. Whether she liked it or not, she was stuck with it.  Surprisingly, not without standing a few struggles, school, friends and new ways of life, it all fell into place. Her sister, Cassandra, was in her senior year and she also had to start over at the end of her school journey. Her brother, Keith, was a Sophomore and he quickly became a popular baseball star (shocker) and her parents had new jobs.  Kara was starting to like where she was at.  She was beginning to adjust to the new world that she was in, just as much as this new world, called California, adjusted to her. 

California sure was something. The place where people thought dreams could come true. Kara has got a few stories to straighten that out. Got $5? You can buy a bag of ice, or better yet one gallon of gas. Wanna go to the beach? Make sure to set your alarm for 4:00 am. The traffic is just horrendous. Do you enjoy pizza? Well, Kara hopes you love driving for it. An hour each way just to get decent pizza. Enjoy being in a daily rat race called commuting? You have come to the right state. People always talk about how beautiful the weather is, but California gives foggy weather a new definition. Living in California wasn’t as good as Kara expected, but some very amazing things happened. Kara had to learn to look for the good through every circumstance. She had to develop a new definition on life and not wait for California to provide a definition for her.

Her definition became, along with every rainy day, there is a hidden rainbow inside. The best colored rainbow was when Kara’s sister, Cassandra, received a full ride 4 year scholarship to any university of her choosing. The next pot of gold fell into her brother's lap, her name is Antonia. Even though Kara believed California was a train wreck, her cars never derailed. She pushed through the bad weather, the expensive gas, and crappy people/drivers to become a valued member of her youth community. What she learned helped develop her into a strong youth mentor. Today, Kara valued her time in California and would definitely say a rainbow existed for her too. 

You know sometimes when you get on the freeway and you are desperately trying to get over to exit, but people won’t let you? This is the best way to describe Kara’s California adventure. She had many bumps in the road, lots of cloudy days, lots of rainbows and pots of gold. Her bags were packed on many days ready to head back to Arizona. “But the greyhound bus doesn't go that way,” is what her dad always said.  Kara always hated when he said that. She never understood that statement, but now she fully understands what that means. You may not like where you are, or how you got there.  You may want to run away and hide, but the bus you think you need to take, will not take you there.  Kara definitely survived, she thrived, she moved on and now she is making a new story for herself.