Channeling: The City of Angels, my home...

LA is so much more to me than a city. It's truly a part of my entire soul.

I wouldn't be who I am at all had I not been born and raised with the culture of LA as my roots.

Whittier is where I was born, which is closer to East LA, CSUN in Northridge is where I went to college and Tarzana is where is spent 4 years having the time of my life making almost every mistake in the world! LMAO

The Valley is my home away from home in Whittier for sure and I'm so grateful for the time I spent there and all that I learned about myself in my time there.

At about the age of 7 my dad took my family and I to Canters Jewish Deli off Fairfax for the first time...little did I know back then how much this place would mean to my life to this day at 31 years old. It saw the most beautiful memories of my childhood with my dad taking my sister, my friends and I there. If you don't know, Canter's, it's open 24/7 and has been there for AGES! Marilyn Monroe (my favorite person in the world) had even been there back in the day, among many other super famous LA Stars. Fast forward to college and this place became where I would go to drunk after the club for a yummy meal between the hours of 2-3am.

Then, at that same age(7years old), my dad began bringing to Melrose where I would begin to mold the pieces of myself that make up so much of the woman I am today. I'll never forget walking the streets of Melrose in awe at the art, fashion and culture.

I told my dad one day "when I'm older, I'm going to work in fashion on Melrose..."

Low and behold, at 22 years old, something very abrupt occurred in my life and I dropped out of college with 2 classes to graduate and began working in fashion PR on Melrose and Highland (iconic as fuck, if I do say so myself haha)

Little Lyss was always intuitive and manifesting from a very young age, and this was just one of a few.

During this time, I was partying hard, living moment to moment, doing what I wanted when I wanted, and experiencing every thing that LA could possibly have to offer, the light, the dark, the glamour and everything in between.

Never in a million years would I go back and change a thing, although I definitely wasn't making all of the best decisions. But I was having fun, and back then that's what mattered to me. All I wanted was to taste the freedom of the city on my lips and that's exactly what I did. And I did it FULLY. No hesitation and nothing holding me back.

A huge part of my story and this time in my life were my memories in "The Valley." The group of friends I had at the time were my true Family.

We went through some of the brokest times and at the same time, the most amazing moments together.

If you know the history of cannabis in The Valley, then you know how fire the weed is out there. Back in 2012-2016 I was smoking some of the best weed, and for free! My best guy friends who I very much consider family, were some of the best trappers in the valley.

When I say we had the best memories together ...MAN you have no idea.

From being at the club most week-nights, to days of just smoking, drinking henny, listening to music, and talking about life...we were all thick as thieves and made the best memories of my entire life with them.

Some days, the girls and I truly didn't know how we were gonna eat dinner that night and then the guys would come through with some pizza or wing stop without even giving us a heads up. Our door was always open, and they always knew to come over whenever, no matter the time or day.

If you could imagine the show "Friends," but in real life, that was us...

If you're one of those people and you're reading this, I love you, and you know who you are. That time was an ERA that I am eternally grateful for. The love was real and a time was had.

This period of time taught me so much, and in a way was also a huge part of my cannabis journey. I was always into cannabis once I first ever tried it, but it was during this time that I really learned how to SMOKE! lol....

"Blunt after blunt after blunt after blunt" was truly the soundtrack to my life at that time. Shout out Jeremih's song Pass Dat Shit. lmao But no, really, I don't know if I ever wasn't smoking during this time!

Growing up in LA, seeing "famous people" is very regular and I'm not one to name drop, but these are too epic to not share, so here is the Gin and Juice ;) pun intended! I've smoked with Snoop Dogg 3 times and Wiz Khalifa a handful of times! I've also smoked with Too $hort (aka Todd) a few times and he's the best!...Life in LA brought me some of the most insane moments of my life that were sometimes surreal. I'm so thankful for every experience LA has given me and if you know me, you know how much I love my city and how hard I rep it.

And if you're one of those people that "hates" LA and think it's "trashy and dirty" then you just might not have met the right people or been to the right places.

The culture and vibes are unbeatable and I truly believe LA is a magical portal where dreams really do come true if you want them to.

LA is the definition of "Life is what you make it."

God bless Los Angeles and all the people that appreciate it's beauty and magic. May every person chasing a dream out there, find it!

My prayers and love will continue to go out to everyone affected by the fires.

May you all be blessed tenfold!

Love,

AK-47(my college given nickname) aka The Marijuana Medium <3