The Job Search: Pt. 3

When I was talking to my mom the other day, she told me, flat-out, that she doesn’t know anything about looking for a job in another city. I was well-aware of this fact already, but hearing her say it finally drove it home. 

A divide exists between me and my parents. There are some things that they simply cannot help me with. They can only support me up to a certain point, and after that, I’m on my own. As much as I relish the thought, it also scares me.

I love my parents. They worked hard and made an honest living, but neither one went to college. As much as my parents might think that they understand the college experience and what it means to pursue a career, I fear that they don’t. They don’t understand because they’ve never gone through the process. 

I wish they could have had the opportunities that they have been able to give me, but they didn’t. My mom once said that parents want their kids to have a better life than them. It’s only natural. 

But when the children actually attain that better life, it puts them at odds with their parents because each traveled down a different life path. And then, as much as they want to understand each other, they can’t.

My mom tells me I don’t have to live in my hometown. She says, “Go ahead and move. Go live anywhere.” But the tone she uses says something else. And then I get defensive, and it’s all downhill from there. 

From a career perspective, opportunities in my field don’t exist in that area. If I end up working for some small-town newspaper, something went seriously wrong in my life.

I want more than that.

– Alyssa Hoogendoorn

The Job Search: Pt. 2

It’s hard not to compare my internship experience at the YWCA with my many others, or compare Chicago with London, where I studied abroad for two months last year. Really, it’s like dealing with old boyfriends. You’re not supposed to compare the old with the new…but you do it anyways.

I hope I learn to love Chicago because I don’t want to go back to rural Iowa, but I don’t know if I want to stay here. It reminds me of the song “Closing Time” by Semisonic – the line that says, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here." Not sure that the song perfectly fits my situation, but it’s a good song either way.

I’m actually going back to Iowa in a couple weeks because that’s when I could catch a ride with someone to go. Getting some space from the city (and breathing some non-smog-filled air) may help me clear my head and figure out if this place is where I really want to be, or if I’m settling again – afraid to take any chances and go somewhere else for fear of failure.

The only way I can fail myself is by not embracing the opportunities open to me and by not using my talents to their fullest potential.

Navigating myself through that process – I’ll have to figure it out on my own. I wouldn't want it any other way. But I’m still open to advice.

– Alyssa Hoogendoorn

The Job Search: Pt. 1

With my December graduation date getting ever-closer, I’ve been searching for a job the past couple of weeks. And the prospects, or shall I say lack thereof, are depressing. Not having an income for three months and not knowing if I will have a job in about a month makes spending any money very hard.

The remedy: not going out much on weekends, and sometimes job searching instead.

My Friday routine involves getting back to the apartment at 4 p.m. and then hunkering down on the couch with my laptop to watch the episodes of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Project Runway from the night before. After those shows are over, it’s back to Netflix browsing.

This is what my Friday nights looked like back in Iowa, except my boyfriend would be the one running the remote control.

I can’t say it doesn’t bother me that I haven’t gone out much and I’ve been in Chicago for over eight weeks. Isn’t nightlife supposed to be a big draw to the city? Isn’t that one of the reasons why I wanted to live here – so I would have something to do on the weekends?

I’m surrounded by restaurants, bars, pubs and coffee shops. And, of course, I can’t forget about the fashion – the infamous shopping district. I walk down Michigan Avenue to get to work. Looking at the beautiful clothes one moment and knowing I can’t afford them the next has become a daily ritual for me.

I just wish the media would stop reporting about the “dismal employment prospects” and stop asking, “Is college worth it?” I had that question answered a long time ago, thank you very much.

But I was talking to my mom the other day about some of these things, and I said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.” Then, she said, “At least you have a place to live.”

Now, I thought she meant right now. Right now, I have a place to live. So I started thinking, “Yeah, it’s good that I have an apartment. I have a roof over my head. I’m not homeless and out on the street.”

My mom meant, in December, I have a place to live, a room in my parent’s basement in rural Iowa…

Thanks, Mom and Dad.

– Alyssa Hoogendoorn

Occupy Chicago: Until I Get a Job

On Sunday afternoon, I set out to find Occupy Chicago [occupychi.org], a spinoff of Occupy Wall Street. I checked the latest news on the social movement to make sure it’s safe, unlike New York where an NYPD officer used pepper spray on a couple of women protestors. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2043308/NYPD-cop-Anthony-Bologna-pepper-sprays-Occupy-Wall-Street-protesters-video.html]. I didn’t find anything like that coming out of Chicago and decided the Windy City must be more civilized than our East Coast friends (… just don’t check any of today’s articles and you can keep believing that).

Occupy Chicago set up camp in a strategic location: right in front of the Federal Reserve Bank building. This was supposed to make some grand statement about the people’s fight against corporate abuse, or something.

When I was in London last summer, peace protestors set up camp in Parliament Square and the gathering soon gained the name Democracy Village. The latest social movement sweeping through major cities in the United States reminded me of that.

Like the London Parliament Square squatters, the Chicagoan occupants claim to be peaceful protestors, part of a non-violent social movement, supporting who knows what – so I’m like, what the heck, why not go check it out?

So I look up directions to the location, Google map it, and this is what it says:

Go to Clark/Division.

Take the Red Line Subway towards 95th.

Get off at Monroe.

Head west on W Monroe St. toward S Dearborn St.

Turn right on S LaSalle St.

Arrive at 231 N LaSalle St.

I see Monroe and think, I know Monroe – that’s the stop I take to get to the Chicago Semester offices. I should be fine. I write down the directions and assume it’s foolproof to follow. So I’m walking along, thinking I totally know where I’m going. Then, I take that right onto S LaSalle St. and never arrive to where I’m supposed to be.

With hardly any people in sight, I keep walking down LaSalle Street, filling the eerie silence with the sound of my heels hitting the pavement. Few cars. No sirens. Is it safe?

These are the sights and sounds of the Chicago business district on a Sunday afternoon.

I end up at the corner of Randolph and LaSalle. I walked the wrong way. I look down Randolph Street and see Hotel Allegro, the place I called home for my first week in Chicago. With familiar sights surrounding me again, I walk towards the nearest bus stop that will take me back to my apartment.

If it’s a serious social movement, Occupy Chicago will be somewhere in the city tomorrow and the days after that until we see results … or violence.

Living off of Little and Learning to Love ... or Finding Happiness in a Bowl of Noodles

Driving into the west side of my hometown, the welcome sign says, “Place of opportunities.” That’s the tagline of the community I come from. This past summer, I checked job listings in the local newspaper every week.

Here’s what I found: unless I suddenly gained superwoman strength to lift 70 pounds or had cattle-herding skills and a truck driver’s license, I need not apply. My only other viable option for making a living seemed to be settling down as a hog farmer’s housewife. And for that, I only have one word: pass.

I come from a small town in a rural area known for its farming and manufacturing communities. That sign on the west side of town mocks me.

And that’s one reason why I left. One reason why I’m here.

Hello, Chicago.

***

After three weeks in the city, I can say it would be easy to complain about the food and clothes I can’t afford. And it would be easy to complain about the “cozy” apartment, public transportation, and the internet and cable company that took two weeks to show up.

But I didn’t come to Chicago to have an easy time. I came to be challenged in ways that only a place as diverse as the third largest city in the country can afford. I came to discover a place where opportunities and my desires align, a place where my talents can fill a need that reaches far beyond me.

I came to live the dream, and nothing about that is easy or as glamorous as you think it should be, especially when you’re trying to live off of something called a broke student’s budget.

Little about city-living is as glamorous as it appears on TV. But sometimes it’s fun to pretend, if only for awhile, before reality sinks in.

***

As I was window shopping on Michigan Avenue the other day, I walked into Chicago’s newly opened Topshop, which is London’s leading clothing store. I love British fashion, but the prices make me feel poor … That is, until I step outside the shop doors and see a homeless man on the street corner begging for a dollar. I don’t know the meaning of poor.

The sights of the city change in an instant.

At the end of the day, I might not be wearing the latest fashion trends or dining at a top-rated Chicago restaurant, but I know where my next meal is coming from – even if it is Ramen noodles.

Appreciating the little things means not getting overwhelmed by designer label clothing stores like Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Michael Kors that I see on my way to work.

Living off of little and learning to love what you have is a matter of city survival. And who’s to say I can’t find happiness in a bowl of noodles?

Ironically, I came here to escape the simplicity of small-town life, but I have seldom lived so plainly or cheaply ever before. It’s all about perspective and what you’re willing to accept as a way of life.

I don’t know about you, but I choose Ramen over the role of hog farmer’s housewife. And for that, I’m happy, and no one can take that away.

–Alyssa Hoogendoorn

A Fond Farewell

Three and a half months ago my parents dropped me off in Chicago. I couldn’t have possibly been in a worse mood. After having a fantastic fall semester at Hope, spending my spring in Chicago seemed like a horrible idea. I had absolutely no desire to be here. Before I headed down to the ballroom for our first meeting of orientation, I told myself that since it was far too late to back out now, I might as well pretend to be happy.

When I left my hotel room that afternoon, it never crossed my mind that I was about to embark on what has easily been the best semester of my college career.

I liked Chicago just fine before I came here, but during these past few months I’ve completely fallen in love with the city. Yeah, there’s the fun tourist attractions, the endless amount of shopping, the grocery stores that have turned me into a foodie (Trader Joe’s, anyone?), but it’s the little things about Chicago that have made my semester great. Joe, who greeted me every single morning at the Howard CTA station with the RedEye newspaper and a “Happy *whatever*-day!” The Red Line conductor who often drove my train home, who was more than happy to vary from the standard, “Please stand clear of the doors, doors are closing” announcement for more personal sentiments, like, “Let’s go home,” “Stay warm!” and, my personal favorite, “All right, buddy, I guess we’ll wait for you,” when someone tried to board the train after the doors had closed. It’s things like this—things that you miss when you come just for Michigan Avenue—that have made me feel like a true Chicagoan.

Before the semester ended, we had a great final party a restaurant in Greektown called The Parthenon. Chicago Semester people from across the board—general students, nurses, social workers, student teachers and the staff—were there, which was great because that hasn’t really happened at all since orientation. I had never had Greek food before, but it was all fantastic. Highlights for me included moussaka, which is similar to lasagna, the baklava and galaktoboureko for dessert and of course the saganaki, which is the official term for “flaming cheese.” It sounds a little weird, but it’s super good.

Spending four days a week working has been a welcome change of pace from my normal academic life. I’ve gained a ton of practical experience here and it’s really been helpful to me in getting a clearer idea of what I would like to do after I graduate next year. I truly would recommend the Chicago Semester to anyone. Even if you’re unsure about living in a big city, even if you’re convinced life can’t get better than it is on your college campus: give it a shot anyway. It’s an experience unlike anything else.

Amusing Museums

I cannot believe how close we are to the end of the semester! This is actually my last full week at work, since we have Good Friday and Easter Monday off and Easter inconveniently fell on the last weekend of our semester in Chicago this spring. This whole experience has just flown by.

Two weekends ago I went on a museum-ing adventure around the city. On Saturday morning I went up to Lincoln Park to see the Chicago History Museum. My sister had visited the museum after she spent the weekend with me and discovered that they have an exhibit on Fort Dearborn. Fort Dearborn stood where Michigan Avenue meets the Chicago River, and it’s a pretty big deal in my family because its namesake, Henry Dearborn, was my great-great-great-great-great (that’s five greats) grandfather. I don’t think he actually had much to do with the fort itself, but my siblings and I love to joke about how we basically own the city of Chicago, given its Fort Dearborn roots and all. I’m pretty sure that’s a completely inaccurate claim, but it doesn’t stop us from bragging about it anyway :)

That afternoon I hoped to go to the Shedd Aquarium, but, as usual, the line to get in was well over an hour long. Instead I went to the Art Institute. I had never gone to the Art Institute by myself before, and I found that I actually enjoyed wandering around alone. It was nice to be able to do things at my own pace and only stop to see the things that I thought were the most interesting.

This past weekend there was a huge 8K race in Chicago, the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. It’s the largest 8K in the world with 40,000 registered participants—almost as many as the Chicago Marathon! I worked Chicago Athlete’s booth at the Shamrock Shuffle Health and Fitness Expo all day Saturday and actually enjoyed it a lot. I also got a free pair of socks from one of the booths, which may or may not have made my day. On Sunday I tagged along with our editor-in-chief while he took photos at the race itself. The weather was very un-April-like: somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 degrees at the 9 a.m. start. I was awfully warm, but a strong breeze of the lake kept it from being too unbearable. Thankfully the race was held really close to my apartment, so I was able to get back home and make it to church before the 10:45 a.m. service started. Normally the roommate that I go to church with and I take the train to and from church, but since the weather was so nice yesterday we decided to walk back to our apartment along the lake. Even though I was hardly dressed for a 3.5 mile walk, it was absolutely gorgeous. Living so close to Lake Michigan just might be one of my favorite things about Chicago.

Running Towards The Home Stretch

It’s been another busy few weeks in Chicago. I’ve really come to appreciate the busyness, though. I realized on the way to work the other day that we only have one month left in the semester. While having down time is nice, right now I’d rather cram as much as possible into my last weeks here. I can relax over summer vacation, right? :)

A couple of weeks ago a few members of my practicum group and I went back out to North Lawndale to continue our experience in the neighborhood. We were able to volunteer at LCDC helping them get some things in order. Even though LCDC does a ton in the community of North Lawndale their staff isn’t huge, so there is always work to be done. It was great to go back and see the community again. The next step in this process is to put together a presentation so we can show the other students in the Chicago Semester what we saw in North Lawndale. We present next week, and I’m really excited to be able to share everything with the other CS students.

http://www.lcdc.net/

The day we went out to North Lawndale happened to be one of the most beautiful days that we’ve had in the city thus far. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky all day and temperatures climbed well into the 60s. I, for one, was thrilled by this change, because it meant I could finally go running. I wasn’t much of a runner before I came to Chicago, but spending eight hours a day reading and writing about people who run marathons can really do something to your motivation. After class that day, I decided to check out the Lakefront Trail for myself. Running along Lake Michigan just might be my new favorite way to exercise. It was absolutely beautiful. I ended up running more that day than I have ever run in my life. Lesson learned: internships can affect your life in ways you never expected.

My sister and her roommate from college came to visit me last weekend, which was a ton of fun. I’ve found that nothing makes me feel quite as Chicagoan as showing people around and knowing exactly where I am when they have no clue. I took them to a couple of my favorite restaurants here, and we had a fantastic time wandering around on an epic shopping adventure. We also happened to see a TV pilot being filmed on their first night here, which is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in the city so far. The pilot is set in the 1960s, so the block they were filming on was filled with old cars, busses, and taxis. It was really interesting. Unfortunately it was nighttime and flash photography was not allowed, so I couldn’t get any pictures. It was still awesome to see, though.

Spring is in the Air!

It’s crazy to think about, but we’re already more than halfway done with our semester in Chicago! On the one hand it seems like Orientation just happened a few weeks ago, but on the other hand I think we’ve all reached the point where even though we know there’s a lot of the city we haven’t seen, we certainly feel like we know it enough to not feel like tourists anymore.

Things slowed down a lot at my internship after our last deadline. Working at a magazine is a different experience for me, because up to this point all of my journalism work has been for newspapers or websites, where your deadlines are very immediate. At a magazine that only comes out once a month, though, there’s a lot more breathing room as far as writing articles goes. I still have tight deadlines for writing online stories, but it’s nice to be in an atmosphere that’s a little more relaxed than what I’m used to.

When you’re a general student in the Chicago Semester program, you participate in something called practicum group. Your practicum group meets once a week on Wednesdays and has a lot to do with your internship. Each practicum group also visits one of Chicago’s neighborhoods during the semester as a way of getting us out of the Loop (downtown Chicago) so we can experience different parts of the city. Last week, my practicum group went to North Lawndale. North Lawndale has been through a lot, especially since the 1960s when riots after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death destroyed much of the commercial area in the neighborhood. The population of the neighborhood dropped by about 67 percent between 1960 and 2000. When we visited North Lawndale, though, my practicum group spent time with Lawndale Christian Development Corporation, and organization that has done incredible things to revitalize the community. It really was an inspiring experience to see everything LCDC is doing in North Lawndale.

This past weekend was a pretty active one for me. On Friday, a bunch of us went to the Bulls game against the Hawks. I had never been to an NBA game before, so it was pretty surreal to actually see people like Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and others whose names I’ve seen in the paper playing basketball. The next day the Bulls celebrated the 20th anniversary of their first NBA Championship, so a few players from the 1991 team including Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant were also in the audience. On Saturday one of my roommates and I decided to get out of our apartment and explore the city. Chicago celebrated St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, so there were a ton of people around town. We opted for a trip to the Garfield Park Conservatory to get away from the tourists for a bit. It was an absolutely beautiful place and a great reminder that spring is coming! We decided to be a little tourist-y ourselves that night by going to Ed Debevic’s for dinner and then to Navy Pier to watch the St. Patrick’s Day fireworks. It may have been cold, but it was a lot of fun.

Work and Play

It’s been a busy two weeks in Chicago! Between my internship, classes and art events it seems like I haven’t stopped moving since the last post. It’s a good thing I like having things to do!

Last week was especially crazy at my internship because we had a deadline for two issues on Friday. Every year, Chicago Athlete releases an annual event guide that includes listings of just about every endurance sport event, club or store remotely close to Chicago. It’s a huge issue, so we had a lot to finalize with that. We also were working on our March issue at the same time. When all was said and done, I ended up writing nine pieces for the two issues combined, seven of which I wrote last week. I’ve never written so much on such a short deadline, but the sense of accomplishment when I finished it all made it completely worth it. Seeing my name in print when the physical copies of the issues came in today was also a very nice bonus.

When I wasn’t at my internship, it seems like I was at the theater. In eight days I went to three different shows. Last Tuesday we went to Working, a musical based on a book by Studs Terkel that tells the story of people who work in Chicago. It was a really good show and it really made me appreciate how different people contribute to the city in so many ways. This past Tuesday we went to Les Misérables. That was wildly exciting for me because I’ve wanted to see the show since I was in eighth grade. It was honestly more than I ever could have imagined. It was a phenomenal show, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Last night we went to a play called The Moonstone at a small theater in Rogers Park, one of the northernmost neighborhoods in Chicago. The storyline followed the mystery surrounding a stolen diamond. I’ve never been very good at solving mysteries, so I was pretty surprised with how it all turned out, but it was a really good show nevertheless.

Last weekend several of my family members came into town. I didn’t have much time to spend with them on Friday, but on Saturday we all went out for breakfast. Afterwards one of my aunts and I planned on going to the Shedd Aquarium, but the line was ridiculously long because admission was free that day. We instead went to the Field Museum. I had never been there before, so that was a really cool experience for me. They had a special exhibit on gold that was really interesting. They even had real Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Grammys and Olympic gold medals. Obviously they were well protected in glass cases, but it was still so cool to see. I also really liked the view from the Field Museum. When you’re in the city it’s hard to appreciate how beautiful the skyline is, but we had a great view from the Museum campus.

The Snow Must Go On

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve already been in the city for four weeks! We’re all beginning to settle into our routines and internships, though it took a little longer than expected to figure out a normal week’s routine as a result of this little snowstorm that blew through Chicago last week—maybe you heard about it?

One of my responsibilities at Chicago Athlete is twittering. On Monday, I logged onto Twitter and saw our timeline filled with tweets about an impending blizzard. As a born and raised Michigander, I’ll admit I blew it all off as hype. I’ve heard plenty of doom-and-gloom winter weather forecasts in my life and have seen most of them end up turning into a few flurries, so my expectations for the storm were pretty low. As the storm approached, it became clear that the storm would live up to the predictions. The Chicago Athlete offices closed down early on Tuesday, as did much of the city. By the time I got back to my apartment it was snowing pretty hard. The weather just got crazier as the night went on, complete with thundersnow!

Our first day of classes was cancelled on Wednesday due to the weather, so my roommates and I made the most of what will likely be our only snow day in college. Two of my roommates cooked a fantastic breakfast while I watched the blizzard get more and more intense until I literally could not see out my window anymore. Here’s my normal view:

And here was my view around 9 a.m. the morning of Snowpocalypse:

Later we went outside just to see what the city looked like covered in 20.4 inches of snow. In a word: dead. There’s usually a lot of traffic around our apartment, but on Wednesday you could look up and down the road and literally not see one single vehicle. I never thought I would see the day when Chicago was as quiet as Holland, Michigan!

A lot of the city remained closed on Thursday, but I did make it out to my internship. We’ve been working on the annual issue, which includes listings of nearly all the endurance sport events and clubs in the general Chicago area. I spent a lot of last week checking on contact information for clubs and stores, and finishing all that on Friday was a great feeling. I also got to write two articles for the issue profiling the magazine’s athletes of the year, which was a really great experience. Writing articles that give readers the chance to learn more about athletes are my favorite kind so I really enjoyed that.

One of the cool opportunities we have through the Chicago Semester is the chance to go to various art events during the time we’re here. We were supposed to go to the Art Institute last Thursday but that was delayed until tonight. I haven’t been to the Art Institute since I was little and I’m excited to go again now that I’m old enough to appreciate it.

Swept Away To The Windy City

Hello! My name is Bethany. I’m a junior at Hope College, where I’m majoring in English and minoring in Spanish and Communication, and I’ll be giving you a taste of what it’s like to live and intern in Chicago this semester.

We spent our first week in Chicago at the Hotel Allegro for orientation. Monday and Tuesday consisted of sessions on transportation, interviewing, and how to make the most of living in the city. The harder work for us students began on Wednesday with interviews and housing appointments. I had two interviews on Wednesday, both in northern suburbs of Chicago. I was pretty nervous about getting to my interviews because my experience with public transportation up to that point had been very limited and always guided. Thankfully, two other girls were headed in my direction Wednesday morning, so we rode the train together. I spent most of my morning and afternoon either commuting or interviewing, but both of my interviews went really well. As soon as I got back into the city, I had to get right back on another train and head down to my housing appointment with my roommates. After we picked our apartment and signed our lease, we went to the Chicago Semester offices for some Giordano’s Pizza: the perfect way to end such a busy day! Thursday was much simpler for me: I had one interview in the morning, and it was on the same road as our hotel. On Friday we talked with our internship coordinators and officially decided where we would be working this semester. I went with Chicago Athlete Magazine, a running magazine that covers just the Chicago area. I’ll be doing both writing and public relations for them, which I am very excited about.

As anyone who follows the NFL knows, the Bears played the Packers in the NFC championship last Sunday in Chicago. I’ve never been a huge fan of the NFL, but even I was pretty excited about the game. It would’ve been hard to not care with sights like this outside your window:

Orientation continued through the first part of this week at the Chicago Semester offices. After about a week and a half of orientation, we had a day off before our internships began. My roommates and I headed up north to check out Lincoln Park Zoo. It was definitely chilly but completely worth it.

Those of us who aren’t student teachers, social work students, or nursing students started our internships on Thursday. My commute is a bit brutal—about an hour and a half each way—but I’m really happy at the magazine so it’s definitely worth it.