About

Why 'kelleyfornia'?

I've had nicknames my whole life. I can't remember a time where my sister actually used my real name. Kii / KiKi has been my nickname for as long as I can remember. My friends call me Kii. Even my boyfriends when I was younger called me Kii. When I left my hometown, I struggled with the concept of introducing myself as Kelley to new people. Hardly anyone called me kelley back home. I felt like I was leaving my identity behind, and in a way, I was. It was uncomfortable and worrisome. It sounds strange, but I practiced in my head introducing myself as Kelley. 

My freshman year of college, one of my sorority sisters cleverly nicknamed me Kelleyfornia- my name & home state combined like a celebrity couple.

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Although I'm not married to California (or anyone for that matter), I may as well be. My life is here, my family is here, my childhood friends are here. I grew up in the same town, in the same house, from age 3 on- which is why it made no sense for me to pack up my life and move 3,000 miles away for college. My school is very southern. It has a student body of mostly in-state students, which is why it was a shock to everyone I met that I was from so far away. California may as well be a foreign country. It was a unique fact about me that got me through those horrible ice breaker games the first week of classes. It was an elusive detail about me that intrigued sorority girls while I went through recruitment. It was my identifier in the times when I had no idea who I was, what I stood for, or what I was doing with my life. Hence, why it stuck. At 17, I was dubbed Kelleyfornia, and it's been a joke among us ever since. The nickname has faded as my friends got to know me and came up with their own nicknames for me (clink, kellz, kel, kclink), but the concept hasn't. My home is a huge part of who I am, which is why I decided to name my blog Kelleyfornia. I still don't know who I am fully, and I struggle with self discovery every day, but one thing I know that will never change is where I'm from, and who I'm becoming because of it. So welcome to my blog. I'll be the first to admit I have no idea where I'm going with it, but I'm excited for the journey, and can't wait for you to join me on it. Who knows where we'll end up?