During high school, I kept thinking I would leave the city and attend college elsewhere. I needed a change in life, a new perspective, a fresh start...

I am now in my sophomore year at the University of Illinois at Chicago- right next door to downtown, as closest as possible to the city I was once so desperate to leave.

Childhood friends and classmates have ventured out into the myriad of states and cities America has to offer. I view their Snapchat stories, Instagram pictures, and Facebook updates on their new lives with an ache wishing I was experiencing new things as well. I feel as if I am missing out on greater adventures by living in the same city I have lived in for the past twenty years.

I may not have physically moved, but I’m experiencing Chicago in a way I never had before, in a way not many will.

Every day I wake up, board the Blue Line, and watch as the train leaves my neighborhood, Irving Park, transitions to Logan Square, zooms past Old Town, moves through the Loop, and drops me off on campus in University Village. It’s a familiarity that soothes my heart and calms my mind.

I walk towards my first class and no matter how far I walk or how many turns I take, with only a quick glance I can instantly spot the tops of the tallest buildings downtown as they poke their heads out behind the commotion standing in between us. I like to call them giants-giants that guide and comfort me throughout many stressful hurdles college throws.

I continue my day and encounter other students who stop to take a quick picture of the sights before them. They too can’t resist the allure of this city, a magic that manages to surpass the campus’s brutalist architecture. A brutal use of concrete and gray indeed...made to complement the infinite beauty already offered by the city.

Within only a short train ride, I can emerge into the busy world of downtown. I stroll down State, Clark, or Magnificent Mile, and blend into the crowds towered by the same iconic buildings I can see from campus. Tourists, students, and workers alike occupy the sidewalks and cross the streets. These are people who look like me, and people who look nothing like me. They’re the connecting veins of the city- breathing in new culture and individual experiences into one whole entity.

Looking up and taking in just how tall these giants are, sends me to a surreal dimension. They help diminish my worries and remind me exactly why I’m studying architecture. These inanimate bodies have life after all. Downtown is the beating heart of Chicago.

After a long day of classes, exploring, and homework, I make sure to walk down the east side of campus and head towards the train stop on Halsted.

Immediately, I am face to face with the city skyline, shining beautifully under the setting sun, smiling back at me.