A Place I've Traveled that Inspired Me To Live, Work or Study Abroad

Chicago, also known as “The City of Broad Shoulders," “Beantown," and most commonly, “The Windy City," was one of the most amazing cities I’ve visited. I visited Chicago for the first time on a National Millennial and GenZ Community trip, back in August and absolutely fell in love with it. Not only was the food amazing, but the people were too; and the city was very diverse.

While in Chicago, I was able to try several different foods and cuisines. One of the dishes I was able to try was a Swedish dish, which tasted delicious! The meal consisted of some of my absolute favorites, including real Swedish Meatballs, mashed potatoes, and a lingonberry sauce to top everything off with. In addition to the delicious Swedish food, I was also able to enjoy German cuisine for the first time. The serving I had was different from mostly everyone else’s, I had “Spätzle," which was a pasta, noodle dish with vegetables and a cheese-like sauce that was quite tasty! Lastly, which isn’t surprising, I also partook in trying the infamous, absolutely delicious Chicago deep-dish pizza. It was the best pizza I had ever had! It tasted like heaven topped with cheese, meat, and homemade sauce. The food in Chicago was just as diverse--if not more--as the people in Chicago.

One of the things that stood out about Chicago was the diversity. A few of the companies we visited were located downtown, so we were able to get a good glimpse of it. We, briefly, had some free time downtown, so I was able to get a nice view of the city’s downtown area. While there, I was able to see the infamous “Bean” and several other landmarks. Most importantly, I was able to walk around and just see the people of Chicago. I’m not sure if downtown is an accurate representation of all of Chicago, but from what I gathered from my vantage point of the area, it was very diverse and busy. The city gave off a very nice, friendly, and vibrant energy. Because of my positive encounters with the city, it inspired me to possibly live there.

I found the vibe of downtown to be aesthetically pleasing and attractive. After my collegiate career, I would love to move to Chicago--or a city with a similar ambiance--and live on the outskirts. From there, I would commute inward to the city to work downtown. I am extremely grateful to be a part of such an amazing community of students and feel very fortunate to be able to travel to new places that I wouldn’t have travelled to without the community.