After five years of living in Oklahoma City, I realized it was time for me to head back home.

When I graduated high school, I knew I needed an escape from my life in LA. A fresh start, some would say. My sister, Emily lived in Oklahoma City with her husband Matt, so I chose a college close to her. 1,328 miles away from the place I have always called home. Even though I wasn’t getting into trouble with the law, I was constantly lying to my parents, sneaking out and going to parties. My parents had high expectations of the Upton Ladies, so disappointment came easy.

It started to take a toll on their relationship. For a while, the words separation or divorce were heard every day at our house. I knew a lot of it was my fault, so I started changing my behavior but the mistakes I made had already caused so much damage. I was not helping anything by staying close to home. That is when I called Emily and told her about getting into Oklahoma University. She suggested that I moved to Oklahoma and offered to let me stay with her and Matt until I finished school.

Things really started to change once I moved. I went to school during the day, then worked at a nightclub a few nights throughout the week. The nightclub was my favorite spot in Oklahoma City. The way the lights danced through the room, the beat of the music, the energy that flowed through the crowd. Every night told a different story of its own. I watched as people fell in love or lust. It was hard to spot the difference in the dimmed lights of the bar. I watched as people fought because they cared so much. I watched as people at the bar drank their sorrows away. While not every night was joyful, every night I heard a new story and found myself intrigued in the mysterious lives some people lived.

A few short months later, I finished my degree and realized it was time for me to head back home. LA had been calling me for years, but it never felt like the right time. I called my best friend Rose and told her I was heading back next week. I had plenty of money saved up from tips alone and decided to stay at a hotel until I found a place of my own. Rose helped with getting me a job at The Brig, a bar near Venice Beach where she worked. We were ready for the summer. Ready to spend our days at the beach getting sun kissed and spending our nights dancing the heat away.

If only I knew how the summer was going to go.