I love the city. The city is brimming full of diversity, and my ADHD ridden mind loves it. I love how I can walk and get lost, I love how I can walk and feel like I am not alone, I love how I can walk and feel alone, I love how I can discover. What I love most about the city is coffee shops. I wanted to go to an abstract and unique spot, not my usual Dunkin or Starbs. I remembered a coffee spot from my first visit to Chicago, not the name, only the memories. I didn’t have a real memory of the coffee either, but the colors of the shop had been burning in my head since my last visit a year ago. Covered in teal and felt the colors and textures were so unique I had to revisit. I walked East thinking that was the vibe of this teal memory. I walked and walked past huge magnificent homes with halloween decorations costing more than my first car. I passed dogs, expensive ones. Corgis and Huskies were as common as a diaper on a baby. Gates with codes and spikes lined the roads as I trotted closer to my teal tempel. I exited the residential area and found myself on a street, a street known from my memory. I had finally found it, Cafe Deco. With its checkered floors and teal ceiling, its felt booths and brass fixtures, Cafe Deco was a memory from my past, and a go to location for my future cafe needs.

What surprised me about the Folded Interactive Map reviewing the schools in Chicago was the intense clusters. I wonder why there are certain spaces and neighborhoods with little to no schools nearby. When I look at the map, along with further research about Chicago schools I am reminded of my early schooling. For me there was the highest rated public school district with its lower school within biking distance, a middle school a short bus ride away, and an upper school only a walking bridge away. Having a school that is not only good but also easily accessible is a foundation for a positive schooling system. Accessibility is equity and with the many vast open neighborhoods Chicago children are not being given what they deserve. I was also surprised by the correlation between the race and ethnicity of certain areas and the schools. While not shown in depth I do wonder how these maps showing race and ethnicity, layered with the accessibility of schools relates to access to healthy food and grocery stores. Coming from Minnesota I know the health risks and long term detrimental issues food deserts create. Combining lack of accessibility to schooling, lack of healthy foods, all while viewing the maps showing racial makeup of a neighborhood highlights the results and catiolist of inequality stemming the entirety of a child’s adolescents.