Planned Journal

Joseph Kim — October 10, 2023

How has the adjustment to Chicago changed your life emotionally?

For the past 6–7 weeks, my experience in Chicago has been eye-opening and impressive. When I first arrived here, I was nervous about what the city could offer, and have heard experiences from my sister. Since this is a new environment, I have found that it has truly made me more peaceful within. From Immersion Week till now, I have grown so much without even knowing; coming from a town in Michigan with no skylines and crowds of people.

My experience engaging with Chicago’s life for the past 7 weeks is something I will cherish my whole life. Moving into a whole different lifestyle is being like a chameleon in the wild, I have adjusted to many social differences and it has become my norm now. I think the move has had a huge effect on me so I would like to discuss my essay on the beauty of Chicago that affects another person. While I am still the same person, I have so much appreciation for what I’ve seen in Chicago. The emotions of the scenery and the history of the city made me learn so much about myself and the city. My direction is the change Chicago has to people from different places.

FIELD GUIDE

For my field guide, I would love to make a guide on the various things that are different about Chicago, Illinois, and Oakland County, Michigan. These can include any random items, social interactions, stores, and etc. This helps paint the picture to the reader on how different life is from 2 different cities. I think it should roughly focus on my experiences here that I have interacted with that have interested me and have caught my attention. Especially from this class, I have engaged in things that have never crossed my mind in Michigan, and specifically been more aware on the life around me.

My idea for the map is to section it off into 2 different sections with one being the train system and another being a map of Chicago. My train map is going to have the different lines and the places I’ve been. I hope for all my models and pictures I include an explanation on my own uses with those items.

The rest of my field guide should include some visual models that directly relate to my experiences.