Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Feeling At Home, At Last

By Genevieve Buthod

Feeling At Home, At Last

I learned this past weekend that Chicago is a smaller city than I thought it is. I took a friend into the Loop to spend the day and I couldn’t get over the feeling that I truly belonged there. Walking under the El bridge running over Jackson, feeling everything on the street below (including ourselves!) shaking as the train passed, I had a strong sense of being at home in a strange place. I’ve had homey, cozy experiences in this big city before, but I had never associated being comfortable with being accepted and welcomed. I had always assumed that because I was easing into the lifestyle up here, it was simply because I was easing into the idea of failing to make eye contact with strangers.

Something inside me has changed, however. It probably happened a while ago, since I’ve been living here, but I hadn’t noticed until just recently. After visiting the Museum of Contemporary Photography, a gallery inside of one of the buildings at Columbia University, I realized that it is in fact possible for a student to be involved in the arts scene in Chicago. Before that point, I had such a closed view of what could be considered valid art and thought that I could never make it here. But after seeing the work on display at this museum, and seeing the emotion and dedication clear in all of the artist’s collections, I believed that it was possible to make it. I just need to learn that a person can gain gratification from their work in many different ways; that there is not one isolated way to feel satisfied.

My world kept getting smaller when my friend and I had an amazing vegan dinner at Native Foods Café in Wicker Park, my new favorite spot to get a cruelty-free meal in the area. It may not sound very exciting to someone who grew up in Chicago, but for someone who is from St. Louis, it is pretty amazing to run into someone you recognize as one of your own. The hostess who greeted us at the Café had attended the very same small Catholic grade school from the neighborhood we both grew up in on the south side of St. Louis! We were both amazed to run into one another, and my dinner companion couldn’t seem to understand my joy and surprise.

After learning that she moved up here to follow her heart in the theatre, I knew that my earlier feelings from today could not have been wrong. It is possible to be a part of a community in a new city; you just have to find a small one to mold yourself into. I keep thinking of everything on such an enormous, overwhelming scale, when I should see it as a collection of small, accessible communities, one for each of Chicago’s little pocket neighborhoods. I had never seen any challenges to thriving here as insurmountable, but now I can finally attach a bit of meaning to overcoming them and calling this new place home.

Genevieve Buthod is a sophomore, and a major in Computer Science with a minor in Philosophy. She is a happy and healthy vegan. She is also the TIAA-CREF Campaign Manager for Students for Justice in Palestine. Genevieve is the Senior Viewpoints Editor for the Xavierite.

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