The long walk to my new home
“Walking Chicago, A history in footsteps.” When I signed up for this class I expected to learn about the history of Chicago. I expected we would learn about the Chicago Fire or the history of skyscrapers. Turns out that the word history, in “A history in footsteps”, became my history since moving to Chicago. Taking the long walks from Uptown to Beverly made me have a new love for this city. It showed me the different types of culture, the different atmosphere and how they all fit into one city. It allowed me to see the city from a local point of view instead of a tourist’s eyes. Walking allowed me to feel comfortable in the city and find my new home.
My map focuses on the places we went during immersion week and then the places I have gone since. I want to share my personal experience throughout the time of living here. The map has little drawings next to the places we/I visited. These drawings are the things I remember from going there and are things that stood out to me. The mood of my map is playful and colorful. The map is up and down with north at the top of the page. The map doesn’t highlight every place I have been but it highlights places I have been more than once or places I remember well because of a good memory I have there. My map doesn’t focus on one location but on all my favorite places throughout Chicago.
When I think of the places I’ve been in Chicago I think of the places on my map. I think of the feelings I got in those places and the things I saw while there. Each place on the map has helped me make Chicago feel like my home instead of a vacation place. Each of the places hold a special place in my heart for how they have helped me do that. Each place now has the “ghost” of me, as we discussed in class. Each place has the memory of me, even if others can’t feel it. When I return to these places and walk the streets I will see the memories of my first experiences there and feel welcome and comfortable because it is a area I know.
The places during immersion week are some of my favorite places I have gone because they are how I established this city. When I think of places “above” Lincoln Park, I think of Rodgers Park and that makes me think of Wendy and the tour she gave us which reminds me of the Heartland Café where we had a group lunch. When I think of Wicker Park I think about having lunch there on our long walk that day and I think of meeting Tyler, who is now one of my best friends at DePaul. The Lincoln Park zoo reminds me of the first thing my roommate and I did together for fun and how close we are now. Wrigleyville makes me excited and is one of my all-time favorite places because of my family’s lifetime dedication to the Cubbies. The point is, each place I have visited have very unique memories and each of those places are a point on this map. They created my Chicago and put this at first crazy scary city, into my perspective.
In her article “Downtown is for People”, Hai Tseng says, “You’ve got to get out and walk” (3). This phrase should be our class motto. In this course, I realized that you can’t explore a city without walking. It may seem like common sense, but walking allows you to see more and embrace the city in a different way. You can stop and go into stores or stop and take a picture or take a moment to look at where you are and how beautiful this city is. When you are in a car or on the L you don’t have the luxury of pausing and stopping. Walking has allowed me to take up my space and go where I want to go. It allows me to see things up close and not from afar. It allows me to say, “I am standing here and therefore no one else can.” I like that idea, that no one can take that ability away from me and that I can decide where and when I want to say that.
I have started to make Chicago less “scary”. The L is no longer a fast-paced monster of confusion anymore. Now, it is the smart and easiest way to get around the city. The L directions are not confusing anymore, they make sense. People have started asking me for directions, which I love. I have started to look enough like a “local” to be asked where things are and how to get there. 3 months ago, I could not tell you what stop to get off on the L or what way to go to get to “The Bean”. I couldn’t tell you street names or the direction of the lake. I may not know every street name yet but walking and allowing myself to get lost is getting me closer to knowing where I am, how I got there and how to get home.
Our generation has not had the difficulty of being lost. We just don’t have to be lost anymore because we have our cellphones. In his article, “Handheld Time Machines”, Giles Turnbull says, “The modern explorer has it all. Every gadget you can think of combined into a pocket-sized smartphone. There’s no need to be lost, or lonely, anywhere. Ever. Unless we explore with our eyes closed, figuratively speaking” (1). Turnbull is completely correct, when we’re walking alone we can stare at our phone and talk to all of our friends in seconds and no longer feel alone. We still have the feelings of loneliness while walking but it is easier to hide our feelings in our cellphones. Taking the time to put our phones down, as scary as that may be for some people in my generation, will allow you to see and hear and feel more. The world continues to move at a fast pace even when we are moving slowly and staring at our phones. I admit that I am guilty of staring at my telephone instead of looking at the beauty surrounding me but this class has opened my eyes to pay more attention.
Walking is a great way to share feelings and opinions with people. Gathering large amounts of people to take over a street and just walk is something that cannot be ignored. When people take back the streets and decide that they are going to take up that space people have to listen to what they want to say. I personally think the amount of walking protests in Chicago is amazing and something I want to be a part of. I think walking to stand up for what you believe in is a great way to peacefully protest. Nereida Moreno in her article “Hundreds March in Chicago to Denounce White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville” writes, “About 400 people gathered at Millennium Park and stopped traffic at times Sunday afternoon as they marched north to sidewalks across the Chicago River from Trump Tower, one of multiple similar marches that unfolded across the U.S. over the weekend” (1). Walking is something you can’t take away from someone. You cannot tell someone they can’t walk there because they will just go around. The 400 people that gathered for this march knew that and knew that their voices would be acknowledged and heard.
When I moved here I was very worried about how I would adjust to the city. Whenever I told someone I was moving to Chicago they said things like “are you nervous?” “aren’t you scared to live in such a big city?” and the answer was yes. However, I always told them no. No, I wasn’t scared, I was extremely excited. Which wasn’t completely a lie. I was worried about where I would go for the everyday things I do at home. Where would I get my groceries? Where would I want to go hang out? Where would I go to get my hair cut or my nails done? Finding these places was fun and exciting. Starting over in a new city where I didn’t know anyone was refreshing and allowed me to be who I wanted and not have to follow what I have always done. Coming to a college and city where I knew no one was a crazy idea but it has allowed me to move on from any of the bad things that may have happened in the past. Those bad moments could be replaced with the new memories I can now make on my own. So, if someone would ask me now, “Is it scary living alone in the city?” My answer would be an honest no.
