Where Fun Comes to Die

^^The (unofficial) motto of my school.  

No, the real one is "May knowledge grow from more to more, and so be human life enriched," but close enough.  

As long as the school gives me free t-shirts** the motto can be whatever it wants to be. 

I've been in the windy city for three weeks now, and after lots of solo exploring and devising how to visit all of the museums for free, I'm a little forlorn about giving up all of my free time to commence classes tomorrow.  

But then I remember that I'm trading endless episodes of Gilmore Girls for scholarly reading and academic writing, and I get all tingly with excited anticipation.  

To my surprise, despite an emotional deracination from Arizona, this transition has gone smoother than I anticipated.  I LOVE living alone more than I've ever loved anything before, and I feel as though I'm honoring my most true self by finally succumbing to the introvert's playground that is my own cozy little apartment.  I also LOVE the scholarly dream land of campus with all of its stunning Gothic revival architecture and stained glass windows and ivy covered walls.  

And even though I've only been here for three weeks, I already have so much inherent Chicago pride.  Not only is the flag super cute (I had no idea cities could have their own flags!) but there's so much culture and history here, and I'm exhilarated to belong to it.  

I want to follow people around and point out to them that Quaker Oats and roller skates and Crate & Barrel and spray paint and Radio Flyer wagons and pinball and the Ferris wheel and Twinkies were all invented by Chicagoans.  

I will happily sit down with any random passerby to discuss how Chicago has the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside of Paris.  

I will talk to anyone willing to listen about the World Fair/Columbian Exposition of 1893 or the great fire of 1871 or even the Iroquois Theater fire of 1903.  

I want to slip notes under people's doors to relate that 2017 is the 75th anniversary of UChicago scientist Enrico Fermi ushering in the atomic age by achieving the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.  

I've noticed that when people discuss Chicago, they are eager to use superlatives like "the best/biggest/oldest/first," anything to showcase and distinguish this diverse and unique city, and now I totally understand why because I'm doing it too. 

So far, my only real qualm about living here is parking.  

Firstly, I regret taking gratuitous parking for granted my whole life.  Now it feels like such an extravagance - how could I ever have been so entitled??  

Secondly, I map out errands according to which stores have parking lots as opposed to street parking, in part because I never learned how to properly parallel park and am thusly suffering greatly.  

I constantly find myself intensely preoccupied with everyone else's transportation means and want to ask friends and strangers alike in conspiratorial whispers where they parked and if was on the street or in a garage and how much did they pay for it.  That's cool that you went to a rooftop wedding downtown, but where did you park though?? Or did you take the train? 

When I found myself in a labyrinth of one-way streets on my way to the contemporary art museum the other day, I realized that paying to park my car is basically the equivalent of paying a babysitter when you go out.  Just as parents of young children have to arrange for childcare, I have to arrange for paid parking.  So yeah, I get it, moms.  I am one of you now.  

Other than that, I'm blissfully enjoying the actualization of the autumn season for the first time in five years and doing what I can to avoid getting mugged.  Cheers! 

**that are costing me literal thousands of dollars in tuition :)