1 Year in Chicago.

by adig828

Over the past year I have fallen in love.  Fallen in love in such an absolute and unexpected way.  Not with a person or a thing but with a place.  

I moved to Chicago last May with no real expectations or plans except to live and come out of my comfort zone.  I craved a new challenge and a new experience that I was not going to experience in Monterey County.  Every evening I found myself driving home from work relating to Jason Aldean’s “Church Pew or Barstool.”  So I woke up in the middle of the night one day and with little thought wrote a resignation email and went back to bed.  In the morning it sunk in and a week later I bought a one way flight to Chicago for 3 weeks from that day.  That was it.  

Somehow during my time in Chicago some of the most unexpected events have happened to me.  Family problems that I had never experienced.  My very first broken heart.  I now know what it really feels like to want to take back a night.  

But everyday I got out of bed (although, sometimes I dragged myself out or only stayed out 30 minutes before bursting into tears).  Everyday I knew that there was something worth living for.  Everyday my faith pulled me through and the knowledge that the best was yet to come got me through the day.  

Despite all this, I have gained so much more than I have lost.  I have come to know what I am capable of achieving.  I know how easy it is to fall but know I have the strength to get back up.  My beliefs have been challenged, I have lost and I have won.  I have been humbled and my understanding and my empathy towards others has increased.

I don’t know if I would have gotten to know myself had I stayed in the place I know like the back of my hand.  I don’t know how much I could have grown in a setting where everything is perfect all the time.  Chicago has provided me with a million lessons and has shaped me into pursuing a deeper connection with those around me and as a result grow closer to God.  It took awhile, but for the past few months I have really felt it.  I have really worked at it.  I am thankful for the people I have met here, the ones that keep me sane. I am thankful for the kids I work with, who make me smile and laugh and give me hope every single day.  I am thankful for my Parish for being awesome and providing a million opportunities, the kids in my 2nd year confirmation class (I teach it!).  I’m so glad I came here and don’t think I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.

 

(But don’t get me wrong, California still has my heart)