Shades of Pink Guiding Me through the City
On my walk through Gold Coast, I encountered several items of the colors Brandy Wine and California Wine, using the colors’ paint chips to guide my findings.
3:32 pm: I got off the brown line at Sedgwick and automatically saw the pink line logo on the map, which matched the Brandy Wine.
3:33 pm: Next to the pink line stop logo was written “There is hope” on a crisis line stop in California Wine. It was intriguing because it was the only phrase on the sign with a different color than most words. It’s meant to stand out because it wants people to know that there is hope no matter what else they read on the sign.
3:40 pm: I walked past these bright pink pillars outside of an apartment complex. They were the color of California Wine. The sunlight hit them very nicely.
3:44 pm: I saw a babysitting flyer on a pole that was the color Brandy Wine. It stood out to me because of the color and because my job revolves around childcare so I could relate to it.
3:56 pm: I saw a sticker of a pill that said “ Take your vitamins” which matched the Brandy wine color. The sticker was on a poll at an intersection on Division Street.
4:04 pm: I noticed a sewer marking that was the color California Wine as I was walking down Division.
4:15 pm: I saw giant pots of flowers with both Brandy Wine and California Wine shades attached to street lamps across Division Street. Pink is my favorite color arrangement for flowers so I enjoyed looking at them.
It is important for walkers to think of themselves as citizens because they must show that they are comfortable with the area they are walking in, blending in with those around them. Tourists are easily spotted in public spaces, but walking with the ability to blend in and appear as a citizen shows that the walker is in tune with the people surrounding them. Walking is tied to me as a resident of Chicago because not only am I familiar with most of the places in the city, but I am a part of the large group of people walking on the streets, tourists excluded. As Hollis said, we are able to reconnect with other people through our shared ties of metropolitan life. I can start a conversation with a stranger and there’s a high chance they’ll be from Chicago as well. The place we live in is a big factor in our identities. This shared identity brings us together, whether we are in conversation or just walking past each other.
