this_portrait
Well-known member
All right, so... I'm posting this not only because I'm in this very situation and have a general interest in it, but also because I'm writing a magazine article for a class and I need some real-life experiences to add to it that aren't my own (any names I use will be anonymous, of course). If you're fine with me quoting you, say so. If you're not, then you say so, too.
On to the topic...
I moved to Chicago at least part-time in late 2008, when I first started school at one of the many universities located throughout the city. I was looking forward to being in a new environment and had a very idealistic outlook on how my experiences would turn out. Growing up, a lot of people (especially family) would tell me that the college years would be the best of my life and that I would make all sorts of lasting friendships there. I believed that, and I also believed I would fit in better there, as I was kind of the freak in high school.
God, was I wrong...
I know I haven't lived even a quarter of my life yet, but I must say, the first four years of school here were the worst of my life so far. I graduated last year, and I haven't talked to any of my former classmates AT ALL, except for maybe on Facebook. I stayed here to look for a job because the economy is so much sh**tier in my hometown that moving back there would be a huge mistake. Since I didn't make any friends as an undergrad, it then became supposed I would make friends once I got a job (and now it's once I go to grad school).
But really, I feel like a ghost here. I don't have it in me to make the effort and reach out to strangers I find interesting in hopes of making friends. Seems like the only strangers who attempt talking to me are the weird ones (and I don't mean that in a good way). I don't know how or why I'm even living here aside from pure economic and academic reasons. I don't get how a place that is teeming with social activity can be so exclusive to anyone who doesn't open their mouth and do all the approaching.
I feel like I don't belong here, and I can't explain why. I used to think that maybe I was too low-class, too reserved, too much of white trash, too much of this, that, or whatever, to be a part of this all-encompassing city, but now I just can't come up with a reason why I feel so out of place here, and it seems like it's starting to really do a number on my psychological health. A lot of the articles I'm reading for my article cite New York as a reference for what I'm going through, but I definitely feel that Chicago could just as easily be lumped in.
Does anyone else on here live (or used to live) in a city and have similar experiences and feelings? I don't expect any solutions to my own dilemma in your responses; I just want to know if I'm the only one going through this.
On to the topic...
I moved to Chicago at least part-time in late 2008, when I first started school at one of the many universities located throughout the city. I was looking forward to being in a new environment and had a very idealistic outlook on how my experiences would turn out. Growing up, a lot of people (especially family) would tell me that the college years would be the best of my life and that I would make all sorts of lasting friendships there. I believed that, and I also believed I would fit in better there, as I was kind of the freak in high school.
God, was I wrong...
I know I haven't lived even a quarter of my life yet, but I must say, the first four years of school here were the worst of my life so far. I graduated last year, and I haven't talked to any of my former classmates AT ALL, except for maybe on Facebook. I stayed here to look for a job because the economy is so much sh**tier in my hometown that moving back there would be a huge mistake. Since I didn't make any friends as an undergrad, it then became supposed I would make friends once I got a job (and now it's once I go to grad school).
But really, I feel like a ghost here. I don't have it in me to make the effort and reach out to strangers I find interesting in hopes of making friends. Seems like the only strangers who attempt talking to me are the weird ones (and I don't mean that in a good way). I don't know how or why I'm even living here aside from pure economic and academic reasons. I don't get how a place that is teeming with social activity can be so exclusive to anyone who doesn't open their mouth and do all the approaching.
I feel like I don't belong here, and I can't explain why. I used to think that maybe I was too low-class, too reserved, too much of white trash, too much of this, that, or whatever, to be a part of this all-encompassing city, but now I just can't come up with a reason why I feel so out of place here, and it seems like it's starting to really do a number on my psychological health. A lot of the articles I'm reading for my article cite New York as a reference for what I'm going through, but I definitely feel that Chicago could just as easily be lumped in.
Does anyone else on here live (or used to live) in a city and have similar experiences and feelings? I don't expect any solutions to my own dilemma in your responses; I just want to know if I'm the only one going through this.
