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Los Angeles: The Land of Dreams That Eats You Alive

This summer, my girlfriend and I traveled to the United States of America.
We had saved money from our jobs and planned the trip as soon as we turned 21.
The USA — the land of the free — but also a deeply divided country of rich and poor.

The system feels simple: eat or get eaten.
And I witnessed that with my own eyes.

Bigger Than Reality

When I flew over Los Angeles, I saw endless houses, skyscrapers, massive highways.
Everything was oversized, surreal — like a simulation that never ends. I had never seen anything like it in one place before.

My first impression of the USA was simple: it’s much bigger than you can imagine.
Coming from Sweden, everything felt amplified — the scale, the ambition, the chaos.
LA, the West Coast of America. Hollywood. The capital of famous people.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably played GTA.
This city is so iconic they built one of the most popular video games in history around it. And being there felt like stepping inside that game — except it’s real, and the consequences are real too.

We stayed in a cheap motel. LA is tightly packed, and the gap between rich and poor is extreme. You feel it immediately.

A Violent Welcome

While walking through the “town of the free,” I got punched in the face the second day I landed.

I was either about to faint or still tripping from the travel when his fist hit me. I remember thinking, this can’t be real — I must be dreaming.
But I wasn’t. He stood in front of me, screaming, telling me to leave him alone.

First day on a different continent. First time in my life I got rocked like that.

I got humbled. It could have been much worse.
From that moment on, I understood something very clearly: this place is a free-for-all lobby.

Like Fallout.
The mindset feels like survival mode — eat or get eaten — and you feel it in your body.

The City: Old, Broken, Futuristic

We explored the city — the food, the streets, the stores.

Most roads are old and bumpy. Many buildings look like they’re stuck in the 80s or 90s, barely maintained, almost abandoned.
Then suddenly, you’re in areas that are ultra-modern, polished, high-class, and insanely expensive.

There are robots delivering food. Self-driving taxis.
Futuristic, impressive — and completely unnecessary.

LA contains every social class you can imagine, all smashed into the same space.
One moment, you see Ferraris and McLarens cruising down the street.
The next moment, people are sleeping on the sidewalk, smoking crack.

Money Above Everything

This city worships money and fame.
And a lot of people here have both.

Some live the dream — millions in the bank, mansions in Beverly Hills, supercars, status.
Others live the nightmare.

We walked past a charity giving food to the homeless. The line was long.
Day and night, people slept beside the sidewalks, screaming, completely disconnected from reality.

Under bridges were entire camps — makeshift homes built from scraps.
People had dogs, fires, communities. Survival.

Food, Stores, and the System

Compared to Europe, everything felt wrong.

You can’t drink the tap water. It’s filled with chemicals, and even after a shower you don’t feel clean.
Groceries are insanely expensive — it’s genuinely cheaper to buy fast food than cook at home.
That alone explains a lot.

The system isn’t built for health. It’s built for efficiency and profit.

The Spirit of the City

LA has a dark energy to it.

Hollywood feels corrupted. People come chasing fame and end up broken.
There are scammers everywhere — especially on Hollywood Boulevard — dressed up for photos, demanding money afterward.

You see addiction, desperation, hunger for attention.
A city that promises dreams but doesn’t protect the people chasing them.

Venice Beach: Beauty in the Chaos

Venice Beach was my favorite place in LA.

Creativity everywhere — music, art, sports, energy.
For the first time, I felt at home.

Even the crackheads were friendly.
It felt like living inside The Matrix — a place I recognized from games and media, now real.

The ocean was beautiful.
I met a man who was spiritual, intellectual, and deeply aligned with my way of thinking. He sold mushrooms — legal there.

LA is a place that eats you and spits you out.
You either let it destroy you, or you meet people who change your life.

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How the Trip Changed Me

This trip changed me.
It gave me a clearer understanding of freedom, security, and what a society actually owes its people.

Coming back to Sweden, I realized how strong the foundation here really is. I have access to things many people in the world don’t: healthcare, education, safety, and social support—basic necessities that are almost taken for granted. Not because life is easy, but because the state creates a stable base. I now understand how valuable that is, and how much better I can use it.

At the same time, I’m still inspired by Los Angeles.
It’s chaotic, broken, and extreme—but it’s also a place where ambition is visible everywhere. It’s where people aim to be at the top, and that mindset stayed with me. That’s where I want to compete one day.

I just turned 21. I know I have a long road ahead of me.

What changed most in me is, I care less about other people’s opinions. I feel a stronger pull toward my own dreams. Seeing how harsh the world can be made me believe more than ever that success is possible—but not guaranteed, and not gentle. It has to be built.

For now, it starts in Sweden. This is where I can grow, improve, and create something real. But I also know I need to see the world—to gain inspiration, to meet people like the man I spoke to in Venice, and to understand not only what I want to become, but also what I never want to be.

To move forward, one must learn where to build, where to draw ambition from, and where not to lose oneself in the process.