get out your comfort zone
When signing up for this class all the way back in July I did not know what knowledge it would bring me. I thought this would have been a blow off class and an easy A, but after these past few weeks I learned that there was so much more to this class all because I let myself get out of my comfort zone and enjoy my surroundings.
Before coming to DePaul, I lived in the suburbs my whole life and always knew where I was as the city I lived in was small. I knew my way around and I knew my surroundings like I had a built in map in my own brain. My city was known around as a highway town, huge trucks would constantly pass by, getting gas and getting food. People would only stop by if they needed a driving break, there was nothing special about Romeoville, Illinois.
I never really knew how to enjoy walking, if you wanted to get around you HAD to drive. I lived near a huge highway and would pass by it everytime I wanted to get out of my town. Funny enough, I have never driven on the highway alone by choice. The reason why I picked DePaul for my undergrad was so I can finally get to place by place without a car. I hated driving. I hated the highways. I hated the loud honking and just the stress of traffic. This relates to the fact that “”Highway engineers dominated the decision-making,” says DiMento. “They were trained to design without much consideration for how a highway might impact urban fabric — they were worried about the most efficient way of moving people from A to B.” which I totally agree with. Highways make it hard for a person to walk around. You cannot freely walk around and feel safe if you are constantly worried you will be stuck by a million cars impatiently waiting through traffic. Highways make it hard for an individual to connect with their city, I could not connect with Romeoville. Chicago is a whole nother story.
Moving from the suburbs to a big city was a huge change that had to bring me out of my comfort zone. I knew that everything was going to change for the good and I had to not feel scared or hold myself back just because of uncertainty. So the first day of immersion week I knew it would be a week of getting out of my comfort zone.
I think my favorite thing coming out of Discover Chicago other than learning how to walk, was the friends I made. We all loved to get food together and I got to know how my friends view the city in their own way. I asked them for recommendations on food or places to go. We all connected on our love for food and got to absorb our surroundings of the city together.
One of my biggest worries about DePaul was public transportation, I admit I was slightly embarrassed that I did not know how it all worked, I hate asking for help. It was hard to get around by myself, but I had to remember other people are struggling too. I had to learn to get out of my comfort zone by asking those around me questions. As time went on I learned my way around the city and felt comfortable enough to start going to places by myself.
This picture is from immersion week. I loved biking around back in my hometown, but I have never biked in the city, nonetheless rent a city bike either. This is a great example of getting out of your comfort zone by trying something new yet scary. My friends and I felt stranded, we were in a random place and did not know how to get back. We did not even know how to rent a bike and my phone was dead. We ended up asking a security officer for help and it ended up being one of my most memorable moments. I had such a good time with my friends and learned how to bike around the city. We got to see nature and what shops were around us. We felt like city locals biking around, acting as if we really knew where we were going. It was a great way of appreciating my surroundings as we all helped each other and lived in the moment.
One of the more funny moments of getting out of my comfort zone was trying to ride the bus without my discover class or a professor for the first time. It was around 5pm, after a day of immersion week ended, and my friend and I made plans to go do errands together. Her and I decided to take the bus, (which I honestly still hate taking) but we ended up getting on the wrong bus. Which was going the completely different direction that we needed to go. We giggled and felt embarrassed. We ended up walking and searched up the correct bus, making a mental note of what to do and what not to do. But honestly I look back and realize it was such a core moment for the both of us and we learned from it, a funny little moment I will always remember. I forgot my feelings of embarrassment and let myself learn how to ride the bus by myself.
In the story of Walking After Midnight, Rebecca Solnit writes how “legal measures, social mores subscribed to by both men and women, the threat implicit in sexual harassment, and rape itself have all limited women’s ability to walk where and when they wished” my main thing that my mom always told me was to bring my pepper spray and be aware of my surroundings. She was actually the one that bought it for me, and stressed that she needed me safe at all times. I still think it is sad that almost all women will never feel comfortable walking alone at night, and at times even during the day time. We have to carry around these “weapons” in order to feel a sense of comfort. Still, I get out of my comfort zone and let myself ease out of all these thoughts while I walk. I would rather enjoy my walk than let ideas of getting kidnapped ruin my relaxing time of walking. I know to be safe and aware of my surroundings, but walking can be good for the state of mind.
I have never been an art person, I never looked at a piece of art and thought of the history or knew the background of the artist who made the piece. But after immersion week and keeping an open mind, I realized how rich in culture every mural is. There is always an interesting background to this work of art. Going to places like Pilson and Paseo Boricua really opened up my mind and thoughts of art. I learned so much about a place just from artwork on the side of a building. It made the town vibrant and beautiful. Hearing from each tour guide the story of each artwork really made me interested in art and made me change my mindset on how I saw art. I agree when they say that “ Pilsen’s buildings, alleyways, and even doors are places where artists blend their identities and culture to convey the injustices they face daily”. Without these murals these towns would not have the same impact as they do with the artwork. The art preserves tradition and teaches those about what they have gone through.
By the end of this course, walking was more than getting from place to place and a means of transportation. It was a way to connect with others and relax. By getting out of my comfort zone I would not have made the memories I have made, and by keeping an open mind I gained so much information that I will remember and continue to strive to learn more.
Pilsen murals blend art and activism. WTTW Chicago. (2019, September 24). https://interactive.wttw.com/my-neighborhood/pilsen/art-as-activism
Stromberg, J. (2015, May 14). Highways gutted American cities. so why did they build them?. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2015/5/14/8605917/highways-interstate-cities-history
Walking after midnight. women, sex and public space. Walking after Midnight. Women, Sex and Public Space –. (n.d.). https://womenwritingarchitecture.org/citation/walking-after-midnight-women-sex-and-public-space/
