June 22, 2015

Dear Chicago…

You’re like the cool aunt that I just recently met for the first time.

Atlanta’s like my mom. I love my actual mom, but the point is that I love you, Chicago.

I get to explore your streets however and whenever I want. In college, the nightlife beckons to me, and no curfews are around the corners lurking. I don’t have time to say “I’m bored” because there are concerts to attend, restaurants to visit, and museums to explore.

Our university’s shuttle rides along LSD (Lake Shore Drive, folks), a path I hope to have the spontaneity to ride along at least once in my college career.

The L system is like the cool cousin that I’ve always wanted. Atlanta’s subway system is utterly awful compared to the L.

College kids don’t do cars and parking fees are atrocious anyways, just about anywhere. I prefer the subway and I love walking around downtown. I’m glad I’m just about a train ride away from adventure.

So many friends have been reinforced through long conversations on the L, watching the suburbs fly by. After I saw a girlfriend biting her boyfriend’s nails and cuticles, I realized that I’ve truly seen it all.

It’s rewarding to learn the system. You settle on a “home base” stations, you start to memorize the names of stops, the locations of transfer stations and subway entrances on the streets of Chitown.

I know that right as you get off the Wabash stop, there’s a Chick-fil-a, and that’s all I really need to know.

I love waiting an hour to get to the Cermak-Chinatown stop and I also love cheating and going to Argyle instead, a short 15-minute ride. I’ve made it a goal to get off at as many stops as I can before I graduate.

A sizeable challenge, I’m sure, but it’s a challenge that I have accepted!

I am all about the Christkindlmarket in Chicago, but I also feel so happy just walking around on the random Chicago streets.

Going to college is great and all, but I get fatigued every few weeks and need to escape that suburb. I flee to the big city to see what life can be like, to remind myself that I had a life before college and that there are all sorts of possibilities for life after college. I see children and old people walking around and see my past and future self in them.

Chicago, I miss you! I’ll see you soon enough, however. Just give me a few months.