Hello all. My name is Debola Adeyemo, I am a senior public relations major and it is my honor to say you are all stuck reading my words for the next couple months. No worries, I will try to make my life sound interesting.
I just have to think of a good story opener first. Hey guys! Welcome to…Nah, I’m not a YouTuber. Hmm okay how about – Hiya folks! – nope, wrong coast. Yeah blogging isn’t so easy. Okay, I’ll start by saying I love cities. There’s something about being only one of a hundred thousand that envelopes you in a feeling of assurance and a hint of existential angst. Got to love it. No actually, I do love cities, I’ve lived and visited so many that I hold dear now and Chicago is slowly but surely becoming one of them.
On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays I work at The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce as their Marketing & Communications Intern. Wednesdays, I take classes through the Chicago Semester program. And on the weekends, I’m either a homebody or a city rat.
One of my growing weekend rituals is to go nowhere and everywhere and end up somewhere familiar. I take the L to somewhere I think I want to visit, jump on a red line, blue line, pink, whichever, until I am somewhere I’m only slightly sure of. I walk around a bit not really going into places but just looking around to see what is around. (Mum if you read this, I promise I’m being safe still).
After walking around a bit, I find my way back to a place that feels familiar, this is usually a shop I’ve scoped out previously in one of my walks or a place I’ve been to before. Considering I am slightly directionally challenged, this has been a pretty cool routine I’ve been slowly moving into. It has helped me weave the familiar and unfamiliar into my life in Chicago. A neighborhood shop that I once looked at from the outside would slowly become one where I would sit, looking from the inside out and possibly even write a blog post in. I think that could substitute as a metaphor for life too. Oof, that could get really deep.
Okay back to fun stuff, last Saturday, I spent approximately 90 minutes in a record store, and it was the best. Let it be noted that I do not own a record player nor a permanent residence to house one, but I bought two vinyl records. Why? Cause investments are important people! Haha, no, music is my favorite thing ever and going through those records made me feel so at home in the city. There were so many gems tucked away there. My decision to buy two records really felt like a manifestation of one day being able to play those records, on a record player, in a place I own, potentially in a city I love. Who knows if it will be Chicago? but Chicago definitely gets bragging rights of being the city I had my musically inspired life manifestation. This is also me justifying my purchase. Once again, mum, if you’re reading this, it was worth it I promise.
Speaking of musically inspired, if you’re ever like me and whenever you put on your headphones (or air pods – for the fancy), you’re either creating a music video in your head or personally featuring in one, well Chicago possesses the power to make that whole experience go from 0-100. Everyone is a potential character in your music video! and no doubt it’s going to be Grammy-nominated cause wow just wow – so many amazing strangers.
So basically, this intro blog post is an ode to music and people-watching – the under spoken hobby (when it’s not criminally motivated of course).
Stay tuned for other blog posts with possible hot takes on The Bachelor and what went down in art class.
Nice to meet you