Fresh Fresh Fresh

I decided that I wanted to talk my walk in the morning because I enjoy the quiet and calmness that comes with it. There are not many people at 7:00 in the morning, which is when I took my walk because I have a lot of issues with being around people. I feel self conscious and that I am being judge which is why I try to talk when there is less traffic. I think this stems from issues I have with myself, this has prevented me in the past to simply take walks and enjoy it. Whenever I take walks it’s to go from point A to point B, not to enjoy the surroundings and think about life. I really enjoyed this walk and it helped me feel good the rest of the day. I am actually considering taking more walks in the morning.

Time: 7:18 am. I am standing at the corner between Sayre and Argyle. I had originally not known what direction I wanted to walk, so I stopped to think if I wanted to continue or turn around. I was still a block away from my house. The reason I was so indecisive was because I did not think I could find interesting things from a path I had taken before. I was feeling like I should do something different since I had already started the day doing something different. At the other side of the corner, there is a small section that during the summer has beautiful flowers. This corner always reminds me of what warmth would be. There are no trees to block the sun from shining brightly, the flowers help bring in that warmth because flowers bring in color to the world, something that is needed a lot during difficult times. At this time, it was cold but the sun helped it not feel as much. I actually appreciated the coldness because I do not enjoy the heat, for the walk it helped me cool down and feel comfy. Towards the end street there was a couple walking with their dog, which from what I can see was a husky. It made me think back to when I lived in the Albany Park area and how much I wanted a dog specifically a husk because I wanted a big dog to be able to give hugs. I think this actually shows how this corner provides that warmth to be able to open up to memories and feel okay about it.

Time: 7:53 am. I am standing in front of a house that has recently been renovated completely. When I was moving to the Norridge area, I passed this house, it was so tiny, there was more land surrounding the tiny house. The house looked like the one from Up next to the huge buildings. I can not recall when they took it down but the house that has replaced it is huge. It made me think about how in the past times, how other people would think of the size of this house and the “tiny” version of the house. I think this street evokes that feeling of new and modern that has been trending. All the houses around are similar to one another. It actually makes me sad because the old tiny house had an aesthetic, the outside was grey with some black hints, there was a porch and the front and back lawn were big. There was no fence around the house to prevent people from admiring it. When I lived in the Albany area, there would be fences in most of the houses around my home. I smell that construction smell, the wood and the tools which are so contradicting to how it smelled of nature.

Time: 8: 38 am. I am not sure why, but this stop light intersection annoys me so much. The way it was constructed frustrates me because it’s a T shaped stop light. It does not go the usual four ways, only three because there is a block preventing anyone from going straight. I thought about why there are streets constructed like that, does it help with anything. Then I remembered that after the Great Chicago Fire, the city did a lot of things to make sure there would not be a fire like that again. I had read that the streets were designed in a complex way to prevent any more situations like that. Traffic has picked up, there are a few cars waiting to either take a right or left. It is louder because there are more cars passing by which makes it harder to hear the birds chirping. I think this street is authoritative because you have to make a decision of where you are going and you have limited options as well, the light is also very long so time drags out. There is a bus stop on the corner with a sitting area but every time I pass the area there is no one waiting for the bus.

Time: 9:00am. The golf court is 8 blocks long. The intersection is right next to a golf court which shocked me when I found out what that place was. I actually thought the golf course was a big fancy house, I thought to myself I want to live there. I tried to use the Historypin to see what had previously been in the golf area but found that there was nothing linked to it which I found weird. There had to at least been some homes in that area. It is not as loud as it had been in the intersection but there is still a lack of nature to it. I really enjoyed how you could hear the birds chirping in the early part of my walk. The more natural sounds made it feel like I was on a walk in a forest or park rather than my neighborhood. I think there being more sounds of cars passing by intrudes with the calmness that the golf court would bring. Overall, this walk really set up my day, I felt more awake and ready to actually do things rather than drag them out. (1035)