A vibrant walk in Lakeview
I took the brown line to Lakeview to go to CVS and ended up taking a scenic stroll. At 3:38, right as I walked out of the CVS doors, I immediately found a sticker on a USPS mail box that matched my colors perfectly. My colors, Tropical Holiday and Pink Punch, were actually very easy to spot around Lakeview. Maybe it was because I was searching for my colors, but it seemed as through every where I looked there was pastel blue and bright pink staring back at me. At 3:44 I headed down Broadway street and saw a building with colorful paint all over the borders of the windows. There were rainbow blobs with a pink that looked identical to Pink Punch. So, I continued down Broadway Street and the delicious smells of the nearby restaurants greeted me. Broadway street was packed with children, possibly returning home from a day at school, and their parents, walking hand in hand.
As I continued down Broadway street, I walked by a SuperCuts that looked deserted. The inside was torn up with splintered wood boards sitting on the walls, bare cement floors, and one Tropical Holiday banner at the window. Under the blue back drop were stuffed animals wearing masks, cut up logs, and decorative fall leaves. This sight left me confused, and made me chuckle a little because of how bizarre it was, but I kept heading down Broadway street. Because I was searching for my colors, it also made me notice all of the other colors. Bright oranges, yellows, blues, greens, and purples were every where. All of the stores and restaurants were very vibrant; there weren’t many buildings that were just plain black or white. This made it a very engaging and fun place to walk because my eyes were constantly looking at something new and intriguing.
I made it to the intersection at Broadway and Belmont at 3:50 and a comic store caught my eye. There were posters covering every inch of the window and wall of the store. On the outside there were posters with superheroes like Batman, Captain America, and Iron man. The colors nearly matched my swatches so I decided to head back down Broadway street. It was such a beautiful day and the sun hit every building so they looked like they were shining. Every color on the buildings seemed brighter, and it felt like I was looking at the world through a filter.
At 3:58 I headed down a neighborhood because I saw a Pink Punch colored flower. The neighborhood was a completely different world. The commotion of Broadway street was silenced once I turned down the street and it was replaced by silence accompanied by the tweets of birds and the rustles of the leaves blowing in the wind. Other than that, it was only me walking down the street. The houses I walked by were engulfed by vines and the trees created a dome over the street so only specks of sunlight could peek through. I made it to the end of the street and saw a package on a doorstep with a Pink Punch sticker, so I took a right. I left the tranquility of the neighborhood and the commotion returned. There was construction going on right in front of this big, beautiful church. Next to the construction there were two FedEx delivery men chatting and laughing loudly together. I continued walking down the street and found myself back at the Broadway/Belmont intersection. I headed left on Belmont once I saw a Tropical Holiday blue mask on the ground.
At 4:15 I could see the Belmont harbor and all of the sails blowing in the wind. There were a lot of joggers, parents pushing strollers, and one man poorly riding in rollerblades. He kept losing his balance and nearly crashed into a lady jogging. As I got closer to the water, I waited at the intersection and almost witnessed a car accident. A man turned left just as the other man was turning right and they almost collided until the man turning right stopped and laid on his horn. Both men were angry, throwing their arms up in frustration. I crossed the street and turned on Lakeshore Dr at 4:23 once I saw a Pink Punch colored newspaper bag. Lakeshore Dr was also its own little world. It was an escape from all of the chaos I just passed, and all I could hear were cars cruising by and the wind. There was a woman training a puppy outside of a Tropical Holiday colored apartment building. The puppy was similar to the man rollerblading, losing its balance and flopping around.
At 4:30 I began to wrap up my walk once I saw Pink Punch graffiti on a mailbox. As I was starting to head back to the Wellington station, I passed by an old woman in a wheelchair basking in the sun while reading a magazine. Overall, it was a very interesting and peaceful stroll. The weather was perfect and the sun created such a vibrant walk. I hadn’t really explored Lakeview, but after this walk I passed by many restaurants and stores that I will make a note to return to. The people I passed by on this walk were also so kind, smiling at me. On my previous walks every one kept to themselves, but the people in Lakeview were very friendly. I enjoyed my time here and I will definitely return to this spot for future walks.
What attitudes and beliefs have you inherited from your family or community regarding exploration, particularly when it comes to exploring (unknown) public spaces? How have these attitudes and beliefs influenced your walking and your experience in public spaces in Chicago? How might these attitudes and beliefs change over time?
After telling my family that I was going to attend a college in Chicago, I was hit with waves of worry from them. They were excited for me, but they were also scared because Chicago is seen as a dangerous city, especially for a young girl. They constantly reminded me of their advice: don’t walk alone at night, share your location with someone you trust, don’t wear clothes that bring you attention, keep to yourself. I understood their concern because on the news, Chicago seems like a very unsafe place, but I had grown up with this advice since I was in middle school. Even going to the mall, my dad lectured me about how to stay safe. I found this advice annoying and repetitive, yet it was ingrained in my brain. My first week in Chicago I was afraid to go anywhere alone because 1. I was worried about danger and 2. I wasn’t familiar with the city yet. Walking anywhere alone made me feel vulnerable to possible threats, and I wasn’t exploring the city on my own which furthered my fear of traveling on my own. Now at week 5, I feel more comfortable exploring the city on my own, but there is still the voice of my family in the back of my mind warning me and keeping me alert. My perspective is beginning to change, and I know that I will become more comfortable over time. But, being a woman, I feel that I will always have to be alert and have my guard up when walking alone. Everything takes time and I hope to feel completely confident to walk alone and become familiar with the city some day in the future. (286)
