Home Sweet Home (from Mike)

It was a Saturday and I had nothing to do. I was going crazy sitting in my dorm. I didn’t feel like venturing out into the city and spend lots of money or look for a party. A lot of my friends went to the suburbs so I decided to catch the next train back to Hinsdale. I didn’t even think about it; I packed my backpack with a few things and trekked over to Union Station.

It’s about one mile from my dorm to Union Station, but walking in the cold made it feel like two. No one wanted to go out in this weather unless they had to. The streets were dead. I could have taken a cab, but that cost money. Instead, I just walked at the cost of being cold.

I kind of enjoy walking. It’s a good way for me to learn my surroundings, and also get some exercise rather than zooming through the streets in a car. I can take my time and see where good stores and restaurants are in the area. I can use all my senses as I walk too. I can feel the wind upon my face. I can hear the streets crawling with engines, sirens and horns. I can smell the draft from the Chicago River. And when I look around, I see an endless cement jungle with buildings climbing out of my peripheral vision and streets that go on forever. Near Union Station is the Sears Tower. Any time I am under it, I can’t help but gaze up to the sky as if I had never seen it before. It just blows me away knowing that we can make such massive structures.

I made my train with seconds to spare. I dozed off watching the buildings get smaller and smaller out my window. Thirty-five minutes later, I was in Hinsdale. When I stepped off the train the first thing I noticed was the trees making up the skyline. I always get a weird feeling when I step off the train like I just stepped through a teleporter.

As I walked home I noticed the same, cold wind blowing through me. I listened to the wind howling through open sky. I smell the clean air and look up to the starry sky. It made me appreciate how much more peaceful the suburbs are than the city. Usually, I hate being in boring town but on this night, it was something I craved—home sweet home.