My First Week in Chicago: A Photoessay

Here’s to new beginnings...

The lovely & intimidating Chicago skyline, from Rogers Park.

I hate traveling. Actually, scratch that, hate is too strong of a word. I dislike traveling. I especially dislike it when I’m forced to leave everyone and everything that I ever cared about behind, and move to a place that I have barely seen. But, that’s exactly what I did. In fact, I moved to one of the most intimidating states, nay, cities in the world, to attend one of the best universities that it has to offer, DePaul. But like any other freshman, I was afraid! I was afraid of being away from home, I was afraid of being surrounded by new people, and I was afraid of the new experience.

But thankfully, DePaul had me, and my fellow peers, covered, as they offered to help us get rid of those fears, by showing us around during “Immersion Week.” At first, I, like many other people, had no idea what the week was about, and chose whatever class that I thought would be fun, and, thankfully, my choice was right. With the help of our professor and mentors of “Walking Chicago: A History in Footsteps,” we were given the opportunity to roam through different parts of Chicago, take in the stories and history that they had to offer, meet new people, get comfortable, and then reflect at the end of each day, making the whole week very memorable!

The history of how different religious locations had changed over time, like how a church had become a mosque (and vice-versa), was so interesting.

Everyday was a new learning experience, as we got to see different places through the eyes of people that had lived there for their whole lives. As the week went on, we visited different parks, and I began to realize how similar the places were to home. Not only were they all full of different people, but they were also full of different things. For example, as my second picture shows, the “Madina Masjid” at Albany Park is a good representation of my point. I mean, could you have had imagined that we were going to see a mosque in the middle of a place that we hadn’t even heard of? I know I wouldn’t have! But that’s the thing that made me so comfortable… The fact that Chicago and its neighborhoods were just big melting pots!

An example of some admirable architecture at Hyde Park.

But what do you get from melting pots, I hear you ask? Well, that’s why I would like to mention our visit to Hyde Park. When our tour guide, Neal Sales Griffin, told us about how his mother moved to Hyde Park because of the diversity and opportunities that it offered, he wasn’t kidding! The evidence is everywhere, including on all of the buildings, whether they be the property of the University of Chicago, or places open for the public. The connection between the presence of people of different backgrounds and the unique architecture is no coincidence, as those people have turned Chicago into the haven (for future generations) that it is today. For example, the third picture of the church at Hyde Park is a good representation of my point, as you see the different styles of architecture, from different parts of the world, which show us how we aren’t the first “new people” to arrive here, and how we’re definitely not the last either.

A portrait (at Rogers Park) of Chicago’s favorite son, a product of the melting pot, and former president, Barack Obama.

Overall, if there’s anything that this week has taught me, it is to not be judgmental, and to not accept any connotation surrounding a place without ever visiting it, as the only way to conquer the fear of new places is by checking them out for yourself. Or as our tour guide at Rogers Park (where the fourth picture was taken) said, if life in Chicago ever seems like it’s too much, just find a view (like the first picture), and remind yourself that “this is my city.”