Is living in fear of COVID the new normal? Are we ever going to return to a less anxious state of mind? Is fall/winter going to bring a decrease in cases or an increase? Will the city shut down again into quarantine since we haven’t gotten the numbers under control? These are the worries I have. Constantly. Especially now with the shifting weather ushering in rainy, gray days. I have struggled with seasonal depression for as long as I can remember. The disappearance of the su

What makes you fall in love with a city? With a house? With a neighborhood? What’s the difference - key differences - between simply living somewhere and actually feeling like you belong there? I’ve moved A LOT in my life. Multiple cities/states and many, many apartments... so maybe that’s why my sense of ‘home’ is a rather elusive thing. Chicagco does actually feel very much like home to me: the vibe of the people is great, I love the lake, there’s always something to do, th

It makes me sad that I have to say this but wearing a mask isn’t political, it’s simply an act of empathy. It’s not about you - about what you believe in, who you vote for, or what science you think is real or not - it’s about being compassionate. It simply is a matter of caring about the people around you. If there’s even the tiniest little chance, the slimmest smallest tiniest percentage of some chance, that you could make someone sick, or could kill someone by breathing/co

The Black Lives Matter movement is an ongoing, dedicated, heart-felt, powerful call to humanity to do the right thing. To treat the Black Community with the respect, equality, and care it deserves. Which is why I want to share their mission statement. Please do not hesitate to visit blacklivesmatter.com for more information. “Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Our intention from the very beginning was t

I’m done with doing things just for the sake of saying I’ve done them. If I’m going to commit time, energy, and money to something, I’m going to make sure it’s something I truly want to do, something that I’ll truly enjoy experiencing. I’m done with going through the motions. Tuesday before last I went up the 103 floors to the top of the Willis (Sears) Tower in Chicago... the world’s 2nd tallest building. It was a cloudy morning, likely to have no visibility. But at those hei

Fear is a powerful, persuasive, often overwhelming thing. Fear is sometimes so intense that it can be paralyzing, or can bring on waves of anxiety. A few weeks ago I wrote about joining an ultimate frisbee team. And it's been going marvelously- I've been having lots of fun and it's grown in me a sense of enjoyment of both this city and my life. However, this last week I got hit. Quite hard. I felt my body go one way and my head snap the other. I hit the ground knowing I was

Planning on leaving this amazing city has made me feel so appreciative of all it has to offer. It's made me linger on the lakefront watching the sunset for a few extra minutes. It's made me check out the restaurants and bars I've walked by dozens of times but never gone into. It's made me revisit places like the zoo, galleries, and gardens that I hadn't been to in ages. And it's made me think... Think about all the things I've taken for granted, missed out on, or underuti

I recently started playing ultimate frisbee on a league here in Chicago. It's so much fun! But for me, it's also absolutely terrifying. Having social anxiety means that even though the people are nice, are friendly, and are willing to patiently teach me the rules, I'm still mind-numbingly anxious for the hours leading up to each game and even for a while into the first game. But, by the second game, I'm usually happy and settled in. My stomach has calmed, my mind has stoppe