So during break, I was lucky enough to have the chance to combine two of my favorite things; visiting the city I love and reconnecting with beloved old friends from camp, one of which couldn't remember the last time she had been to Chicago. So naturally, my fellow suburbanite Lindsey and I had to play tour guide.
Although we might not be true "chicagoans", I felt like a pretty experienced city-goer walking down the crowded streets of Michigan Ave. Ever since my Mom first let me take the train down by myself as a senior in high school, the city has brought a sense of freedom and energy that I've yet to find anywhere else, even in college. I think the feeling comes from being confident that I know my way around certain areas of such an overwhelmingly large urban area. When I'm downtown, I let myself succumb to my five year old tendencies and pretend that I actually live there.
The first place we took Jane was the restaurant Dick's Last Resort, which is sort of a PG-13 version of Ed Debevic's (another Chicago classic). Both restaurants serve all the American staples-burgers, fries, etc-but they're known more for the waiting staffs than the food. At Ed's, the waiters will jokingly be rude but never to the point where I couldn't handle it as a young kid. Dick's, however, I'm glad I waited to eat at until after I turned eighteen. Not only do the waiters take every opportunity to be as rude to you as possible, they write especially crude insults on paper hats and force you to wear them. While this might not sound like the ideal dining experience, it's actually pretty fun and the creativity behind some of the insults are so impressive that you can't help but laugh.
Next up was ice skating at one of my favorite touristy spots, Millennium Park. The rink has become a great Chicago Christmas tradition that lasts until mid March- weather permitting-each year. The waiting in line part wasn't so fun since it took over and hour to get to the front...and then the zamboni came out as we were finally ready to skate, but once we got out there it was definitely worth it. I've never skated alongside a more beautiful view, especially as the sun was beginning to set and the final rays were reflecting off the forest of skyscrapers around us. I proved myself to be a slightly more experienced skater, and spent most of the time towing Lindsey behind me via my brother's old Adidas backpack.
Once our feet began to thaw, we walked around the park and showed Jane all the highlights. First up was of course the stainless steel sculpture Cloud Gate, known as "The Bean", created by artist Anish Kapoor. Our inner tourists really came out as we spent at least twenty minutes taking every kind of picture we could come up with, just like the throngs of people around us. We took more cheesy pictures in front of Jay Pritzker Pavilion, where our photographer intuition led us astray as Jane was yelled at by a park officer for standing on the ledge. Thankfully she wasn't too embarrassed to take more ridiculous pictures around the park, and was up for checking out the line for the "Willis" (*ahem*Sears) Tower's Skydeck. Unfortunately, it was way too long and we had a train to catch, but thankfully we had time for a quick Garrett's popcorn stop.
There's something special about reconnecting with old friends, especially in a setting such as Chicago. And, meeting up with my friends from camp is particularly special since I see them even less than my high school friends. Getting to spend time with these two wonderful girls was truly a highlight of my break, and although it was hard to say goodbye I know that they're the type of friends that are here to stay. I think it's really important to spend as much time with friends like this when you're home from school because it reminds you how thankful you should be to have them in your life. College is all about meeting new people and forming more friendships, but I've never been the type to let go of old friendships to welcome new ones, and I never will be. These girls helped me get through all of the challenges that came with high school, and they were the people by my side through all the experiences that have helped shape the person that I am today. I'll never forget all our good times together and all that they've done for me, and I can't wait to see what the rest of college and beyond has in store for us.
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