Photo by Sterling Davis

I’ve always considered myself one of LA’s biggest boosters. I moved here seventeen years ago and, aside from the occasional dalliance with another city, never looked back. I passed the “once you stay five years you never go back” threshold with flying colors and do my best to spread the LA Love whenever can. “It’s the energy and the vitality that I love,” I say. “People come here to pursue their dreams and they keep on going. Everywhere you go you meet someone who is starting something, building, planning, growing. Other cities don’t have that. They’re more settled down…”

It’s a large city and obviously there are plenty of people who share my passion. Yet, I never hear people talking about it. More often, people are complaining about this or that and comparing LA to the cities they came from. Yet still, they stay. But why?

When we launched our “What inspires you about LA?” question contest, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was not alone in my LA love affair. And, in fact, I was not particularly original in my reasoning to justify my love. The inspiration has spewed forth from a variety of lekkers, young and older (though, oddly enough, somewhat gender imbalanced), from all over this city.

Check out the answers to the “What inspires you about LA?” contest here. If you want to try to win tickets to the Los Angeles Idea Project, you can still enter. But do it quickly. The contest ends today.

And for the record, here’s my favorite answer by RachelM.  Her answer inspires me.

What inspires me about the City of Angels? LA thrives on ideas and is where they come into fruition.

A friend once rightfully deemed LA as “the center of the world.” Whether its the glitz and glam of Hollywood and entertainment, the cultural corners of Downtown city streets, the arts communities, nature enthusiasts, corporate world, cause-minded communities or academe - Los Angeles is a hot bed of diverse creatives who want to make their impact on the world. These idea-driven individuals never cease to amaze me with their creativity and drive. They are the heartbeat of this city. They are dreamers with gusto. They take their potential and make something of it. I’ve been living here for 5 years and it has definitely impacted who I have become. From getting involved in everything from charitable initiatives to cultural to political to music to film, I’ve been able to soak up everything under the sun. I am constantly surprised by how much I have not yet experienced; LA is constantly inviting and thriving with an amazing amount of communities, scenes and events.

Because of this, Los Angeles inspires me to be a better person - to be more. More creative, more diverse, more aware, more impactful, more informed, more in touch, more patient (TRAFFIC), more open-minded, more caring, more passionate, more worldly, more selfless, more inspired… more IDEA-oriented.

The best part of all is that everyone has ideas and we aren’t scared to share them here in LA. We shout them from the rooftops, high-rises and beaches. I look forward to sharing mine and listening to others to get further inspired at the Los Angeles Idea Project this weekend.

“What’s your dream?”