The Enchantment of Chicago

There was a chance for me to be in Chicago at this very moment, but I chose not to go for various reasons. Maybe it was out of fear that Chicago was the complete opposite from my life at home or maybe it was out of realization that Los Angeles could provide me with greater opportunity than Chicago. Whatever reasons they were, in the end I chose to give up this city. My sister lives in Chicago so every once in a while I would take a trip up there to go visit her on my own. It wasn’t until I grew older that I began to appreciate all of the amazing things that made Chicago into the world renowned city that it was.

The food, the music, the summer and fall weather, the architecture, the endless amount of events held in the city, and the scenery. It was an electric place with all four seasons, which is far from the boring, all-year-round sticky summer suburbia that I grew up in back in Florida. I loved the fact that I didn’t need a car; that I could take the train like everyone else and walk amongst hundreds of other strangers. The endless options of food made you never want to eat anywhere else in the world. The music was the pulsing heart of the city whose heartbeat you could hear for miles away. The Jazz and rock music gives Chicago an old soul even though it is one of the most progressive cities out there. There are art and music festivals pretty much once every week. During the fall the leaves turned bright orange and red like any normal autumn season but it was something I never had back at home. In the summer the buildings glistened, reflecting off the clear blue water from the lake. Chicago lies next to the massive body of Lake Michigan and the combination of the tall city skyscrapers next to this peaceful oceanic view is breathtaking. The hustle and bustle of the city mixed with the calming body of sparkling water would never seem to go well together, but it ends up being one of the main attributes that makes Chicago as unique as it is.

I always imagined myself in a huge city with crispy autumns, snowy winters, and warm summers; where I could hear the roar of the train station and walk to every corner of the city if I wanted to. Chicago to me was the perfect medium between New York’s large scale city feel and Boston’s homey atmosphere. But now I am in a city that is very different to Chicago. It’s always sunny here, it never rains, and winters never get too cold. The buildings aren’t too tall, everyone drives in a car, and the public transportation system isn’t as great as it should be. I believed that college was the opportunity to live anywhere I wanted without having to take on the complete responsibilities of being an adult. I guess it wasn’t time for me to be in Chicago right now because as much as I love Chicago, I truly love Los Angeles as well, in a different way. Maybe one day I will find myself living in the magical city of Chicago. But right now I’m supposed to be here in LA and I’m excited about this city too. I have an immense amount of time in my future to go explore, travel, find more cities to fall in love with, and maybe one day live in the city that has been calling my name.