A Month in Chi - July 2019

So... my life journey continues... in Chicago, Illinois, when I officially moved earlier this month. I'm slowly picking up on the commuter life, importance of credit building, and owning my life completely independently. Here's an extensive summary of the past month because I am crappy at journaling, but I still want to somehow document my adventures to date and share it with whoever is a little curious.. or bored! I bolded keywords for you, haha.

July week 1

• Ubered to work an hour away on the first day of orientation. I sounded like a monster when I introduced myself because my sickness was on/off still from Europe
• Three days into orientation - I was basically just a fiend for the free coffee
• I built furniture every day this week after work, and actually found it quite stress-relieving.. until I pieced my bed frame the wrong way and had to buy a new drill to make new holes on the other side. My bed is currently still upright so I'm guessing I did okay 
• Happy hour @ North Branch was the first social event with the cohort. I've never had bombass chicken tenders with a good margarita before.. usually not the typical combo, but hey, who's complaining when there's good food/drink? 
• We spent the last half of Wednesday volunteering at Feed My Starving Children. It went by quickly and it was a great way for us to bond and get to know each other better, all the while packaging food for children who aren't guaranteed access to basic foods every day 
• My apartment is in a prime location (East Lincoln Park, off of Diversey), AND there are dogs everywhere in and out of my apartment
• I'm becoming best friends with the maintenance guy at my apartment. His name is Oscar -- he's a lifesaver for bringing up all my heavier apartment items, love him
• Stores near me: ramen, Nail Bar, TJMaxx, Target, Express, Walgreens, Francesca's, Urban, Trader Joe's, SO BASICALLY IT'S PRETTY LIT
• My skating teammate Kaitlyn's bridal shower weekend was celebrated at Flight Club in the evening, and I genuinely had a great time catching up with everyone. Can't wait for the wedding, it'll be my first! 

July week 2

• Post Greek reunion, Shika finally moved in and our Cali friends (ft. Hersh, Akshay and Sudana) came to visit. Our Lakeview neighbors also came to say hi!  
• Every day after work, I'd meet them for HH, and we even did an architectural river tour and watched fireworks -- I love being adventurous and trying new things in the city. If you have any recommendations or just want to catch up, hit me up! 
• We walked by the lantern festival one day and also chilled by North Avenue Beach. I publicly apologize for any Chicago/Illinois locals who I said the Lake didn't have a real beach, 'cause it's beautiful.
• HH this week was at Benchmark on N Clark St, and honestly I'd love to spend more time exploring these bars. Earlier in the week I also went to The Vig to catch up with a high school classmate who started working downtown as well. Honestly, just overall wholesome 
• My humanities ass started training on Excel, and I worked more directly with my team. I am so grateful for Encompass (a subsidiary of Allstate)  & the team I have the opportunity to work with for the next year

July week 3

• I've started listening to self-dev and personal finance/investment podcasts (oh yes, I said podcasts. Never thought I'd be cool enough for podcasts) to make use of my 1.5 hour commute to and from work 
• Our Encompass outing this Thursday allowed for us to have a half day, where we spent 30 minutes at a local baseball game using up our drink vouchers
• On Friday, we had a mini UIUC reunion for our friend Anusha, where we went to Catina Loredo for dinner and then partied at Liqrbox. The Mustache Crawl was the next morning, and around 10-15 people from the cohort pregamed together before heading over to Wrigleyville. We even had a cohort/friend with his first placement in NY visit us
• I napped from 3-5p that day, and still managed to go to Bottled Blonde & Concrete with my roommate. I recovered all of Sunday. Seriously. It was rough walking into work on Monday
• I am starting to compile a list for fitness studios/clubs as I try out their free trials, as well as a general list for restaurant/bars/events in Chicago worth giving a shot (disclaimer - there's a lot) 

July week 4

• I started this week by trying out OrangeTheory @ Lincoln Park. It is honestly an extremely friendly atmosphere, and I got a kick out of the workout. I haven't physically moved that much in over a month (I'm not sure building furniture would count towards my sweat count), but I am proud I got myself off the couch. Fitness programs/studios are generally overpriced, but if you like a guided class and motivation from others also working out around you, I'd definitely say go for it. The instructors are well qualified & extremely helpful, and there is also a heart-rate monitor that is displayed by colors during the 1-hour workout.
• A pro about working for an Allstate subsidiary company is that there is already a lot more for me to be involved with at work. I wake up almost every day at 5a now to try and work from home/wake up at the Starbucks one block away from me, before my bus at 6:48a. 
• I slept with colder temperature last night and noticed that I woke up less groggy. Maybe working out is worth it, and the temperature is helping me fall asleep better
• Caught up with Parth with some much needed boba and pho, before he starts his aduling journey in dental school *woot woot*
• Went grocery shopping for the first time with Shika, with multiple grocery stores so close to us, I'm surprised we haven't gone at all. This should help my budgeting be more clear after August so that I can plan accordingly
• Called LA Fitness for a quote & toured Equinox Lincoln Park today. With the summer sale, U of I discount, and starting membership pro-rated at the end of the month... I am paying for an elite fitness club with comparable membership to Corepower and Orange Theory. Yup, I signed up on the spot (...some say I am easily impressed/persuaded. I'll let you know if I regret acting so rash in a few months)

There's the summary. Be back soon? Who knows. I am good at this annual blogging thing. So we'll just go with the flow, haha. Here's some shameless self-plug: 

@shannonylee for all social medias, and @shan7lee for a candid diary version on Instagram (finsta but not)

Shan

February Thoughts

Life is about experiencing new things, taking risks, being bold, and making connections with other people. College is a very good place for all of those things to happen, but I feel like a lot of people do those things without having much thought behind it besides "having fun." I'm not saying that everything needs to be taken seriously all the time, but I believe in the meaningful memories created even during those temporary, brief moments in a conversation held with a stranger or during the times we step out of our comfort zones.

I've got 3 years and part of a semester left of my time in my undergrad life, and I want to make the most out of it. Time is going to fly by, and life is only going to get busier. This means that I need to stop overanalyzing so many aspects of my life, and just live a little. One of my teammates told me something I really like. She said "regrets aren't made, they are lived." I don't think this means to just disregard everything and go do things that I know I won't be proud of, but I interpret it as a way to follow my gut sometimes and be open-minded to change of perspectives and thoughts. Knowing myself and how I reflect, self-evaluate, and analyze every situation a lot through detailed emotional dissection, that isn't always a good thing. If being scared of making a regret is the only thing holding me back, then it's not quite worth it. My morals and values are still with me and will be with me for the rest of my life, but some tweaks here and there will help me grow more as a person.

I shouldn't be so afraid to try new things. Whether that is trying out a new class, finding a part-time job, going on a date, or going out with my friends and teammates. There are so many things in life that have a gray-scale but are only perceived as black and white because of the broad generalizations and the negative stigma created by society. As long as I take responsibility for myself and own up to decisions I make, sometimes experiencing something firsthand is the best way to make a personal judgment on it.

I am not trying to tell people how to live their life because they can do whatever they want without caring about what others will think, but to put more value in a connection made with someone even during a brief interaction can make a difference in the lifestyle of college and create a more genuine and real bond between people. There are many definitions of  what a "value" is, and there are confounding factors involved with everything I've been saying, but these are just the main thoughts that have been clouding my mind lately. If it doesn't make much sense, I apologize. This is still a work in progress.

Talk soon,
Shan

1st Week of College on the Cornfields

I've been on campus for six days now, and the first day of college starts today. I have a lot going through my head, and I am not sure I'm going to be able to articulate the emotions and feelings that I'm experiencing, but I'll try.

The day before move-in day, I was freaking out. I had never been in Illinois before, not to mention being on the gigantic campus. I only knew that there would be a lot of corn, and that the winter time would be harsh. I didn't know if I'd feel like home here, or if I'd like that it was kind of in the middle of nowhere.

The last week has gone way above my expectations and it has been filled with new adventures, new friends (yes, I'm actually making new friends!), and the start of independence of living on my own.

I am loving being a student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The diversity is real, and the people are friendly. I feel like I am part of a true community, not just a person looking in from the outside. The school spirit is deafening, and I feel proud to be walking on the campus as a student here. The college town is beautiful, and I am loving seeing green grass instead of brown grass all around campus. The weather is perfect for me (until September that is). I know the winter is going to get brutal, but for now I'm just appreciating the California weather over here. It actually might even be better than Cali weather. There's been a nice breeze going through every day, and even when there are overcast skies, the temperature is still warm enough that I can go out in shorts and a sleeveless shirt.

I have been spotting my high school classmates often, and it makes me happy to be able to re-unite with them, even if it's only for a couple minutes. I'm also enjoying trying new things, exploring, and making new connections with people that grew up in completely different states and have very different backgrounds. I'm learning that we have much more in common than we think we do, especially with the sense of humor I have.

There are a lot of amazing restaurants and PMT spots on Green St., and the food I eat are walked off every time I need to get somewhere by feet. The campus is huge, so I've been walking at least 10,000 steps a day. I don't see the need to go to the gym anymore. Being a student, I am realizing how many discounts we get and I am happy to take 'em. Free admission into a lot of events, discounts on food or store items, and not needing to pay to ride the buses (that's a definite must) or cheap admission into the skating rink makes the college tuition a little more worth it, that is... if I actually get out of my dorm to explore what's out there. I've eaten a lot of free meals, gotten free t-shirts, attended grad night-like events (the LateNighter), and attended my first service event here (we painted the outside building walls at "Salt & Light Ministries
- check them out: http://www.saltandlightministry.org/). There are always a large number of people at each event, because the school is so big. This is nice because it is guaranteed that I will meet people with the same passion and interest I have for something. There are so many other things I can do on campus including bowling, rock-climbing, beach volleyball, watch performances at the Krannert Hall, go to poster sales, attend open mics, or attend mixers and block parties. I don't ever have to worry that I'm the one person out of super small group of people interested in going to an event.

The #1 question I've been getting from people here is, "Why pick Illinois over California?"

I tell them I want to put myself out there, and really experience life as much as I can the next four years. If I don't like it, I can move back. This entire four-year journey is a rare chance, because I'd never come to Urbana-Champaign just as a tourist, or to "sight-see" the corn fields. Even if I only visit a friend for a few days, it wouldn't compare to experience as really living on campus and being a part of the student community here. Seeing orange and blue everywhere, the colors are definitely growing on me more and more each day. I'm bleeding blue and orange, and I haven't even taken my first test yet or met my classmates of the semester.

Yes, Illinois is the #1 party school (people go "trick-or-treating" at night often - if you don't get it, it's okay. It's my own term, haha). But Illinois is also the #1 community I'm glad to be a part of. Most of the 43,603 students on campus are strangers to me, but people are friendly, they are looking out for me, and we are all in this together. Most of the people I talked to this past week, I probably will never see again, but I think there's beauty in that. They may influence me and make a difference without even knowing it. The only thing really bringing us together is our identity with the U of I (I've been getting used to calling it that more, instead of UIUC or saying the full name like I did back home).

Besides a service program, an Asian American club, and ice skating, I might also join a religious group. I went to a Christian fellowship group last night, and I was surprised I got myself there somehow. I haven't been to church consistently in a couple years, and I've been on and off with my faith because I feel that it's too complicated for me to deal with and I have too many questions to figure it out. I'll keep an open mind, and we'll see where this goes.

My dorm is starting to feel like my home (and I'm actually staying pretty neat/organized...for now), and I can shout, "I-N-I," pretty confidently when I hear someone say "I-L-L." The next four years on this campus, in the college town, is going to be the best yet and I really want to take advantage of it. I want to go to events, try new things, meet new people every day. The only thing is that I hope I keep my word to that so I don't let the four years fly by with only stressful and routine days. I am so thankful I have the opportunity to experience college life like this, and the independence factor is frightening but exhilarating. I'm eventually going to have to be fully responsible for myself, and college is definitely a good transition. After college, the career starts (hopefully) and things get real. I'm sure the experience will be rewarding too, but for now I think college is the perfect balance between independence/responsibility, and fun/exploration.

I love this college town, and I can't wait to make the most out of the next four years I have here. I am excited to see how this journey shapes and moves me, and I hope I learn to enjoy everything that happens, positive and negative. This orientation week has gone by way to fast, and I can't believe my first day of college classes start today.

There are so many "nooks" on campus I'm excited to discover throughout the next four years, and too many restaurants I want to try out.

I don't know if I said everything I wanted to say, but I think I got a good chunk of it out of my system. I'm gonna head off to class soon, so see ya!

Best of luck to the upcoming school year,
Shan

P.S- I'm missing all of my friends and family back home! It's weird saying "back home," because I feel like I'm only a couple miles away at some summer camp.  You can look forward to another post from me soon, because I'll probably write another post when reality hits me and I start feeling really homesick.

P.P.S- If you're interested in seeing my daily life on campus through pictures, here's a link to the site: https://shanillini.wordpress.com/ It's a project that is part of my ART105 class, Visual Design for non-majors. I'm having a fun start, but I'm also up so late because of this, haha.