Who Is He ?

This Action Project is called "Where Are You From ?" but I changed my title to, "Who Is He? The goal of this Action Project was to create a representation of how I see myself in relation to Chicago. This blog post reflects and shows how I share myself and my city. We talked about where we're from in class and we made "Identity Bags" containing words that described our perception of the neighborhoods and places we're from and words describing how an outsider to my neighborhood would describe and perceive it. We also went to the Loyola University Museum of Art to experience and interact with the "Folded Maps" exhibit in person. The exhibit was a 20-foot map of Chicago going left to right from South to North. The map included names of neighborhoods and landmarks in the city limits. The point of the map is to find your address partner. An address pair is two addresses with the same numbers and street names but they must be located on the opposite side of town.  I was able to find my address pair and I was also able to find where I live and used to live. I hope you enjoy this blog post.

Seeleywww.google.com/maps/place/6134+S+Seeley+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60636/@41.7815964,-87.6773769,17
z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x880e2e4bd5acf5a7:0x3f69fc6398ff987b!8m2!3d41.7815924!4d-87.6751882.

 I grew up on the South and North side of Chicago. I used to live in West Englewood which is a predominantly black neighborhood near Lindblom Park. Now I live in Uptown which is a very diverse neighborhood. I after I moved to the Northside I was able to see how much different it was from the Southside. There are better stores and resources up here than out South. I travel throughout Chicago by taking the CTA trains and buses. I have been taking the CTA for years so I consider myself street smart.  I can take the CTA to go from Uptown to West Englewood. I feel connected to the South and North Side of Chicago because I live on the North Side and most of my family lives on the Southside. Both neighborhoods of West Englewood and Uptown have grown on me. When I'm in West Englewood I'm used to seeing Lindblom Park and the old school I used to attend.  An experience from West Englewood for me is playing basketball at Lindblom Park in the scorching hot sun. A public event that I went to in West Englewood was the "Anti-Bait Truck Shoe Giveaway" hosted by Vic Mensa and his organization "Save money, Save life". It was designed to bring people together, spread awareness of the things that are happening and that has happened in Chicago, and give back to a community on the Southside. I view Chicago as divided by race and wealth. But through this event, I also started developing this idea that Chicago can and should be able to come together as one and not only for events but to come and stand together as people.

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When I'm in Uptown I'm used to seeing the Wilson Red Line Station, Truman College, and the "Snack 4 Less" corner store,  Some experiences from Uptown for me are being exposed more to drugs, gangs, and violence, exploring opportunities, meeting new people even now, and skateboarding all around the neighborhood. An event that I witnessed in Uptown was the won the "Pride Parade." The parade brought everyone from all over together for something positive. I also this event influenced my way of thinking about Chicago and how everyone can come together. The way the neighborhood works is unique in a way. But this neighborhood is divided by gang territories. It doesn't affect me that much but I just have to be aware of my surroundings and the people around me. I look for the good in Uptown and I try my best to do good and continue doing good for myself and others.




This map below shows the two places I lived. The first marker is the neighborhood of Uptown.
The second marker is the neighborhood of West Englewood. I included this map to show the distance from where I live and used to live. The distance apart from each other in miles is 17.5 miles. It takes me about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get from Uptown to Englewood by taking the CTA.

www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/editmid=1xr67bQkuSTaPukBPxC3no2KMzCvOD4RA&ll=41.853
                                               210683152106%2C-87.80701709731181&z=11.

I really enjoyed doing this action project. I  learned a lot about myself and my peers through this project. I learned that we share the same and different ideas about Chicago. This project allowed me to go into detail about how the place I'm from made me the person I am today. I talked about who I am and how I see myself as a Chicagoan and I also talked about how I view my city. I included things about Englewood and Uptown instead of just picking one neighborhood because I can call both of these places home. I included pictures of a street sign in the different neighborhoods because I felt I could be creative by adding my own touch to this action project.