Living in Chicago: An Overview

Noah Schremser

Professor Kalin

Discover Chicago

October 25, 2023

This past weekend I was in rural Maine visiting family, living in a lake house in the middle of nowhere. To get there, I had to fly from Chicago to Boston, where I took a ferry to Salem Massachusetts, where I then drove 4 hours to get to this small house in the middle of the forest. There was nothing out there; the closest gas station was half an hour away, the nearest store was farther, and the closest thing that even came close to resembling a town or city was miles from where we were. Most of the time there was no internet. No scrolling on my phone, no youtube searching, and no messaging for the majority of the trip. There was nothing but the beautiful nature that was the forests that surrounded us and the lakes in front of us. I spent much of my time with family, who I had not really spent time with since I moved here, and hiking through the trees and narrow paths around the hills and waterfalls. It gave me a lot of time to think about what being in the present moment really means, and why it is so important to be aware of the world around me. I started to take in the beauty that nature had to offer, and really notice the little things like the crunching of sticks and leaves beneath my feet and the insects that lived in these woodlands and forests. My attention to detail reminds me of a quote from the “Paris Review” where it says, “I started noticing the ads in the magazines I read. Here is a woman in an asymmetrical black swimsuit, a semitransparent palm tree superimposed on her head, a pink pole behind her. Here is a woman lying down, miraculously balanced on some kind of balustrade, in a white button-down, khaki skirt, and sandals, the same dynamic play of light and palm trees and buildings around her.” In the same way that Lauren Elkin described being aware in the city, I too was being aware in the solitary confinement that was being away from civilization. This allowed me to be present and take in the beautiful scenery that was around me, and ultimately made me happier that I was in such a beautiful, if not isolating circumstance.

This is one of the pictures I got while I was hiking. I stood there for quite a while to take in the beauty of the lake in the valley.

This entire class has dealt with the ideas of being present. I remember the first day I walked in, where the professor asked the class, “What is walking?” Each of us gave many different answers, like a mode of transportation, a way to get exercise in, etc. However after being in this class for two months I’ve come up with my own definition, which I have mentioned before in my writings but I will say it again. To me, the act of walking is the act of being present. It is the most basic way to take in our surroundings and to live in the moment. From the moment one starts walking one tends to forget the worrying thoughts of the future, like the homework that is to be done or the chores that are to be accomplished. Running errands become breaks from the future and creates time for the present, where true absolvance of worry can take place. Walking to work becomes its own journey, where one might notice something they never did before, like someone playing music on the street or a corner store full of antiques or delicacies. Throughout this class I walked all over this city, where I became more and more aware of my surroundings, while also taking in what it truly means to be independent from others. I used to always think that owning and driving a car was just about the most independent thing you could do, but after seeing so much traffic in the city I realized that simply wasn’t true. The true independence was walking outside of the bounds of some lines of paint on concrete.

This was an image I was able to capture while on one of my walks in the city. I feel like it truly plays into how I was wrong about cars being a sign of independence, as all of these people here are stuck in traffic while I was freely moving about on my own.

This section in particular makes me think about the vox article “The forgotten history of how automakers invented the crime of jaywalking” where it says, “‘Pedestrians were walking in the streets anywhere they wanted, whenever they wanted, usually without looking,’ Norton says. During the 1910s there were few crosswalks painted on the street, and they were generally ignored by pedestrians.” These walks made me think about how crazy it is that we accept the limitations of public spaces to make room for vehicle in our cities when not too long ago the true freedom of cities were the public spaces that are now being limited. The idea of being present has been lost in our culture, where nowadays it is more important to reach a destination rather than to enjoy the journey along the way. However walking also plays a fundamental role in our society. It connects everyone and brings them closer together. The more people there are, the more connected those same people become. What are protests and marches in the United States other than those walking together in order to achieve one common goal? What is the purpose of farmer’s markets other than for people to walk together to meet their daily needs? People that use the city space together are more connected, as we all are walking in these spaces to go about our daily lives. Many times we choose to ignore those around us to cope with the lack of personal space we have. However to accept and embrace those around us all trying to achieve their own success can help us with the motivation to achieve our own successes and goals. With all of this being said, walking allows us one more thing which I hold close to me. Walking allows us to explore. It allows us to travel to new places, to see things that we would be unable to see by car, boat, or plane. It allows us to take in first hand the wonders of the world. Just while walking around I got to explore the city of Chicago and find a whole bunch of unique things that makes this city so special. Here are some of the pictures that I took while on my walks that I think represents this.

This is the lilypad pond that we discovered during immersion week. I actually went back a few times and this is one of the photos while the weather was still nice. I miss going to the lilypad pond, it was so peaceful I could sit there for hours, observing at the beautiful nature that was around me.

This is a picture I took while I was at the Lincoln Park Conservatory. I found this place by accident and was in awe of all of the beautiful plants that they were taking care of in this building. I remember remarking how there were whole ecosystems lodged in different sections of the building, and how cool it was to have such a beautiful place jsut 15 minutes from campus.

I got this picture while I was out walking for my multimedia essay. It was such a breathtaking view of the cityscape that I just had to take a picture. Up until this point I never had a good look at the city from afar, and I think the weather complemented this shot perfectly.

This is a picture of a chicken shop that I ate at while completing my multimedia essay. I remember the theme and design of the restaurant, and how cozy and well laid out it was despite being so small. There was no inside seating and they only had three things on the menu but I remember it being the best place I ate at that day.

I’m right on the end of making this too long so I am going to sum up with one final thought. It reminds me of a quote from an article called, “The Painter of Modern Life” where the author writes, “So away he goes, hastening, searching. What does he seek? Of a surety, this man, such as I have depicted him, endowed with an active imagination, endlessly voyaging over the great desert of humanity…” The quote is talking about an artist that paints modern life and what he searches for in search of inspiration for his art. However this quote also reminds me of the idea of control. For as long as I can remember, I tried really hard to control things in my life. I tried to control my life in school, my life with my family, and what people I want around me as friends. When I got here I was, and still kind of continue to be, an outsider. It wasn’t until I went out to a few parties to realize that I never really had any control over what life threw at me. What hit me though was the realization that nobody really has any control over their lives either. While walking through the city for many combined hours now, I realized that we as humans simply don’t control what happens to us as much as we want to think that we do. Call it whatever you want, God, fate, or some unknown power in the universe, but life has a funny way of making you think that you’re in control of what your doing and then throwing a curveball. No matter who you are or what you do, a curveball is inevitable, and life always has a funny way of giving you a rap on the knuckles for whenever you do something stupid. We rarely ever get to choose what happens to us. The only thing we do get to do is choose whether or not we get out of bed and live with it.