southport ave.

On Saturday, September 9, I walked from Seton Hall to my cousin’s house. My cousin, Gabby, lives about 25 minutes off campus, in a neighborhood called Southport. She goes to DePaul and is a Senior here. I put my gym shoes and airpods in, excited to see what I will see walking there. It was slightly windy outside, which made me hopeful for the fall. Some of the trees were already turning a different color, which I made note of to take one. This was the first thing I made sure to write down and collect. I love fall and watching the leaves turn yellow and eventually fade away.

Usually when my friends and I get hungry at night, we walk to the nearest 7/11 and get snacks. However, I myself have never walked past the nearest 7/11 on Diversey Pkwy, and I was curious to see what was past this area. As I walked, I kept seeing cute cafes, with creative slogans to get customers to walk in. I made mental notes on where my friends and I could get food one day. I counted more than five dentist/orthodontist places, which really stood out to me since my dream career is something in orthodontics.

View from her apartment

Sunset view

In “The Solitary Stroller and the City,” Rebecca Solnit writes, “Cities have always offered anonymity, variety, and conjunction, qualities best basked in by walking” (p. 182). I used this walk to clear my head as I was stressed and I was having a hard day. I feel like walking in the city alone is such an effective way to relieve stress and forget what is going on at home. The anonymity of walking in the city is so peaceful. I admit I shed some tears on my walk but no one cared. Everyone has their own lifes and we are all walking to our own destinations, we are all anonymous in each other’s lives we probably won’t see each other ever again, which shows the beauty of it all.

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