Chicago is thought for skyscrapers, crowded sidewalks and rows upon rows of house buildings. To the quite a few Loyola college students who come from cities or states bursting with nature, inexperienced areas within the metropolis appear restricted, making the transition to varsity much more harrowing.
Lakefront paths, a botanic backyard and a practically mile-long seaside will not be good substitutes for rolling hills, mountain peaks and huge inexperienced areas. However, Chicago has far more to supply college students homesick for nature than many different metropolitan cities, beginning with Lake Michigan. For college students who come from coastal or lakeside areas, reminiscent of first-year nursing main Kristine Coad, the lake offers a far more genuine feeling of dwelling.
Coad, 18, comes from Minnesota, “the Land of 10,000 Lakes.” She mentioned Lake Michigan isn’t precisely just like the lakes she’s grow to be accustomed to, but it surely’s a welcome substitute, and mentioned its presence is sufficient to make her really feel at dwelling.
Seattle native and senior train science main Abby Davenport mentioned she misses the Pacific Ocean, but in addition finds Lake Michigan as a stand-in.
“I love the chill of the winds off the ocean, the sounds of waves,” Davenport, 22, mentioned. “You don’t get that from most lakes.”
Davenport additionally talked about similarities between Chicago’s lakefront and the seashores alongside the Pacific Ocean, specifically how the seashores alongside Lake Michigan are sandy as a substitute of rocky.
Chicago boasts 26 miles of lakefront with about 25 seashores, all free to the general public. Many of town’s seashores are inside shut proximity to Loyola, together with Hartigan Beach, North Shore Beach and the college’s personal Loyola Beach.
Eleanor Friel, a first-year Spanish main and Minneapolis native, spoke of the homey really feel Chicago’s lakefront offers for her.
“There’s a creek by my house that I like to walk by which has its own walking and bike path,” Friel, 18, mentioned, mentioning Chicago’s lakefront paths. “I think it’s nice to have that nature in the city and have easy access to going on walks or bike rides.”
While college students accustomed to dwelling close to our bodies of water appear to really feel nearer to dwelling, those that dwell simply hours away can really feel a bit shell-shocked going from the lengthy roads and cornfields of the suburbs to the busy streets and concrete constructions of town.
Ambiya Shaikh, a first-year advertising and marketing main from Crystal Lake, Illinois, famous the absence of fields of crops — a acquainted sight to many Midwesterners — and mentioned the lighthouse at Loyola Beach invokes a sense of dwelling for her.
“That boardwalk with all the tall grass reminds me of corn,” Shaikh, 18, mentioned. “It’s pretty, so I enjoy it.”
Loyola Park and Loyola Beach present a sense of consolation for a lot of college students. It’s a quick stroll from the Lake Shore campus and options the Loyola Natural Area, which consists of acres of dunes and a vast grassy space alongside the lakefront.
Hiba Raza, a senior neuroscience main from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, mentioned she feels most at dwelling within the Chicago Botanic Garden.
“There’s a botanical garden in the suburbs, and it reminds me of that one,” Raza, 22, mentioned.
At the Chicago Botanic Garden, guests can stroll by way of the 27 gardens which cowl 385 acres. Two or extra free admission days can be found to Illinois residents every month. Otherwise, tickets are $9.95.
Raza famous the happiness each the botanical backyard within the suburbs and in Chicago encourage in her. “With all the colors, it reminds me of summertime,” she mentioned.
Chicago’s lakefront could not make up for what town lacks in forests, rolling fields or huge inexperienced areas. However, town presents college students seashores, parks and public gardens, which offer them with that sense of dwelling.
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