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Chicago!

was there for 3 days to see a friend, and I loved the sites and the hospitality I received. I was trying to find my hotel and an older man saw me confused and he offered to walk me to the street where my hotel was. I was surprised, but thankful. Also public transportation was so accessible there. I’m hoping to see my friend again this year, and i hope to do more there. Plus i was not able to see the whole art museum

@chiawase_

Jan 15, 2025

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Chicago!

There‘s so much to do and so many hidden gems it really depends on your vibe! Where are you staying? Kingston Mines is a blues club that’s been around forever- they have live music, food, and drinks. Chicago does street fests so well and they’re what I think of when I think of summer. There’s something every weekend basically. Millenium Park also does a free concert series. It’s great to picnic and listen to great music. A lot of well known artists do it. We have beaches!!!! You probably won’t have a bike but if you do… bike up to a beach. The river architecture tour is so cool, I loved it even as a person who has been living here for 15 years. In the summer it’s really easy to stumble upon stuff, which is what I love about summer in the city. There’s also a dive bar on basically every street so if you’re looking for a chill place to have a beer, those are easy to find.

@mossyelfie

Jun 1, 2024

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Some stray chicago spots

Def can depend on where you’re staying, but these are kinda all over the place things I’d say are good Art Institute is def one of the top galleries in the world. If you’re an art person it’s a 100 you wanna do it. If you want a deeper cut art museum-Wrightwood 659(even people who live here don’t rep it enough.) People talk about the hot dogs(Devil Dawgs is the one I usually have), but the Polish Sausage at Jim’s Original is very much its own distinct vibe. Fancyish vibes - Monteverde(Italian hard to get rez for but good) Kumiko(it’s in the top 25 bars in the world for a reason but also not fussy) Day 2 Day vibes - Delilah’s, Goose Island(you said beer it’s at least local), Ming Hin(Chinatown locale), Charleston(gotta get at least one corner/residential bar in)

@jrpaperstack

Jun 1, 2024

Top Recs from @nadiyaelyse

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You are only mundane to yourself because you are so familiar— to everyone else you are new

Firstly, I’m so sorry you’re feeling that way— that’s really crummy, and I’m sure that once you feel that way everything feels like confirmation of being unspecial. But in a very very real way, you might be bored with yourself because you know yourself so well— other people don’t know you. You could walk into a bar or a cafe or an event and you would be new to at least one person there. If you feel like you aren’t interesting conversationally, are you a good listener? In a very honest way, the people I’ve found hottest and most intriguing are always good listeners, and people who are quiet and incisive. It’s okay if you don’t talk on and on; a lot of “interesting” people are just filling space with noise. Noise is always briefly exciting or interesting, but that doesn’t mean it has substance or adds value. Trust me on this, I’m a performer and frankly so many nights I’m just making noise. So first piece of advice is, approach yourself as if you were a stranger— look at everything about you like you’ve never ever seen it before, and start to notice what you like. Then build on those things. Like, it’s okay if you hate your clothes, but do you have one jacket/shirt/earring that you love? Wear that so much, and slowly look out for pieces that make you feel like the thing you love— it’s okay if it takes time, the outfits that make me feel dynamic are all cobbled together from stuff I found over years. Then look at other people, what do you find interesting about them? I am a knockoff of every woman I ever thought was cool— my summer camp counselor, my gender studies TA from my first year of college, my mom, and literally everyone else. That’s okay though, mimicking what you like is a way of developing your taste, and you will put yourself together in a way that’s a little different and totally your own. It’s okay if it takes time— sometimes we have seasons where we don’t like ourselves a ton, but they do pass, and who you will be in a year is a brand new person— you haven’t met them yet, and you might love them. Tiny practical advice? Go for walks; it’s good for your body, it releases endorphins, and it gives you a chance to people watch/observe nature. Read something small; it can be a single poem, or an essay, or a children’s book— I love Howl’s Moving Castle and if I’m feeling stuck in a rut I read that, even though it’s a children’s book. If reading isn’t your thing watch a movie or a TV episode, but whatever you consume, watch it and take notes, like you‘re a secret critic— note what you liked, whether it’s costumes or language or the vibe, and what you didn’t, and then you can find more things like it— that’s how you develop your own taste, and it’s a good way to develop language around art and media. All critics and essayists and everyone whose job is to write interestingly about art started with shit they liked in middle school, and built on that to find their own language— you can do that too. Sorry for the hugely long post, but I promise that you are more interesting than you give yourself credit for, and there are people in the world who will see that.

@nadiyaelyse

Feb 19, 2024

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transparency is not the same as intimacy

This was really impactful for me; the analogy is, your life/your heart is a room (or an apartment, a space, etc) and relationships are all about inviting people into that room. Intimacy is letting them into the room and knowing that they might touch stuff, move furniture around, or change the way you’ve laid the room out. Transparency is letting people see the room, but keeping a glass between them and the space— they can see, but not touch. I think relationally we all have impulses toward transparency instead of intimacy, and it’s easy to say “I let you look at my room, that was intimacy,” while maintaining the glass that separates people from the room. Be intimate! Let people pick up the tchotchkes in your heart and move the furniture.

@nadiyaelyse

May 28, 2024

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Let it die

I like to let my phone die— I often don’t charge it overnight, and try not to plug it in during the day. If you’re able to access work/school through only your laptop, let your phone die, or leave it on the plug in another room. I also delete most apps from my phone for periods of weeks, and minimally use social media— if this works for you, it can feel very liberating, and makes me feel much less constantly accessible (which I think is a good thing). Something that helps me is thinking about the flattening of correspondence; before social media, if you wanted to communicate to a friend, it was one-on-one— you might write a letter, or call, or email, but what you were doing was conversational and relational. When we use social media, we flatten a lot of individual relationships into one relationship between us and our “audience.” Instead of sharing a thought or comment intended for one person, and designed for them to reply and continue the correspondence, we put out press releases on our own lives: “this is what I had for breakfast,” “this is a meme about my mental health,” and we become part of a passive audience in our friend’s lives. We end up feeling like we’ve just seen our friends, because we’re “viewing” their lives, but actually apps leave us feeling very isolated and anti-social. Try deleting your most used social media apps, and also schedule a walk/movie night/coffee with a friend. Outside of radical deletion, pick an audio book to listen to, and pair it with a hands on/tactile activity: you could load the dishwasher, or draw, or try embroidery.

@nadiyaelyse

Jul 29, 2024