Chicago Through a New Lens
If I’m being honest I grew up in somewhat of a bubble. Growing up in Glenview, a suburb of Chicago, I did not take nearly as much advantage of the city as I should have. I wanted to see Chicago through a new lens so I enrolled in this class. After experiencing this immersion week I have learned a lot about Chicago and the art of walking in general, but I am still hungry to learn more. The first day we walked gave me a feeling that I will remember for a very long time. We took a small trip to the lakefront. Seeing many things along the way. From an open fire hydrant spewing out water to a seagull eating a piece of a garbage. Coming up on the lakefront I didn’t expect much, but as soon as I looked upon the city from a distance I was amazed.
This way of looking at Chicago and from this point of view was all perfect. I had never seen the city in this way before and it was beautiful. After we left I was disappointed at the fact that I couldn’t have seen this view of the city earlier in my life. So it could be something I could always have for myself to keep coming back to. A way to remind myself how lucky I am to have the city practically at my front door. I had other moments like this all throughout the week. Visiting the South Side and North Side was very different for me. People of all different races, genders, and looking at the huge differences in how they live was amazing to see. Before this immersion week whenever I did visit Chicago it was usually to eat at a restaurant downtown or to go see a Cubs game on the weekend. I never came to Chicago to really appreciate the movement and diversity of the neighborhoods.
Going to places like Hyde Park and Rogers Park was definitely a new and exciting experience. Seeing the layout of each of the neighborhoods made me reflect on how the neighborhood I grew up in was similar or different. In each walk I tried to push myself to see and discover new things that I normally would have looked over. I remember seeing a poster of the cover of an album that recently came out and that I listened to on the train ride their. It made me think if I did not take this journey on this certain path I wouldn’t have been able to connect this small encounter to the walk that I had.
Overall, my experiences on these walks will stick with me throughout the entire year to help give me a better understanding of the city that we all have learned to live in and love.
