Born and raised in the heart of the east Bay Area, I have been blessed to call California my home for all twenty-eight years of my life. While I have called many places within California home, I have lived in Orange County for the past three years. So how did I, a black girl, end up in Orange County? It all started when I was preparing to go off to college. I knew I wanted to leave home, but I had no clue where I wanted to go.  I vividly remember taking a road trip with my mother, sister, and niece all the way down to San Diego to visit schools in Southern California. The scenery along the 101 was gorgeous, the drive however, not so much.  Let’s just say, after that trip, no one let’s my mother drive anymore.

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We visited a few schools along our road trip but when touring a small private school by the name of Loyola Marymount University I knew that was the school for me. There I was, in the beautiful West LA community of Westchester.  I spent all four years familiarizing myself with all the local the clubs, bars, restaurants and of course the beaches! I even met the love of my life. I was destined to be here.

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As that chapter closed, I [reluctantly] ended up back in the Bay Area living with my parents after graduating with no bag secured. Thankfully after landing a "big girl" job I was able to save up enough money to move out of the nest. I even reconnected with my now husband who ended up transferring to San Jose State to finish off his education. We eventually moved in together and got engaged. Before we officially tied the knot, he was approached about a job opportunity in Southern California. We had the unique opportunity to choose exactly where we wanted to be in SoCal. Both of us were familiar with West LA but we were not drawn to returning to LA.  Since my family was still in the Bay Area we felt as though San Diego was just a bit too far in-case we needed to take frequent road trips. So where to?

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Then there was the OC…. Neither one of us knew a lot about Orange County or even anyone who lived there but the location was ideal for us.  Beaches, restaurants, trails, prime real estate, plenty of shopping and of course the Happiest Place on Earth, what was not to love? We decided in February 2020 we were going to officially call OC home.

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After being in OC for some time now my mission is to connect those who look like me, the black community to some of the best that Orange County has to offer. It is my absolute passion to explore different places to enjoy while in Orange County and I am so excited to share what this beautiful place has to offer.