Chicago Life – College Admission at Loyola

Chicago Fashion Week

By Meredith Simmons | October 14, 2016

Chicago is full of hidden gems and amazing hole in the wall spots for anything you can imagine, sometimes it just takes a minute to find them. As a fashion blogger and someone who has a keen personal interest in the industry, I always felt like I was missing out by not being in NYC or LA. Finally I realized that I wasn’t missing out on anything but what was right in front of me. Chicago might not have the commercialized industry that New York has, but what we have might just be better. A raw and unique industry built by the patchwork of designers and models who populate Chicago’s fashion industry.

This past Saturday I had the chance to attend an fashion show hosted by a FashionBar Chicago, a fashion PR firm in the city. This event was part of a larger program, Chicago Fashion Week, which is aimed at bringing together the designers and talented fashion students of Chicago to help make the city a fashion capital.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I found this event through Fashion Bar Chicago’s website and convinced a friend of mine to tag along with me. The fashion show was held at the Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue, and hosted five designers who would show their collections. The location was iconic, a place you would remember if you’ve ever been to Chicago’s magnificent mile and a place where everyone wants to take a pic for instagram (which of course I did).

Once inside, we took our seats and chatted with other guests while we waited for the first show. It was a simple and intimate venue, which lent well to the nature of Chicago fashion. I consider myself an avid people watcher, and this was prime location. It was incredible to watch everyone as they settled into their seats, each sporting their own unique style.

Every designer had a vivid and uniquely personal line and served as a great reminder that you don’t need to fly to Paris to experience fashion. This experience reminded me just why I love Chicago. This city has everything, every time I think that I’m missing something, I’m surprised to find it hiding around the corner waiting to be discovered. Living in Chicago you can’t be afraid do go and seek out the things that you like. Even if at first you don’t see what you’re looking for, you might be surprised at the amazing things you’ll find in this city!

Walking Between Skyscrapers

By | November 7, 2014

Chicago is certainly not a dull city. Even on a Sunday night you might just so happen to stumble across someone tight-rope walking between skyscrapers. Well maybe not every Sunday night.

On November 2nd, Nik Wallenda walked on a tight rope 600 feet above downtown Chicago from Marina City’s West Tower to the Leo Burnett Building across the Chicago River and then from the West to East Marina City Tower–blindfolded. Wallenda said that this was his most challenging walk yet. They don’t call Chicago “The Windy City” for nothing and walking on a tight rope unattached even a little breeze would certainly make things a little trickier.

My roommates and I had nothing better to do Sunday night, so we headed downtown to check things out. We weaved our way through the crowds and found a spot between State and Wabash. Craning our necks to see the wire so high above us was enough to make my stomach drop. Watching the orange speck of a man walk successfully from building to building does nothing but cause your mouth to hang wide open in fear and astonishment.

Because of a delay (and a much needed dinner stop) we missed Wallenda’s first walk across the river. We heard cheers as we made our way back to our spot–I was glad they were cheers of celebration rather than terror. After a short wait, the time it took Wallenda to go down the elevator, across the river, and back up again– we watched him practically run across the next wire. The distance was much shorter, but he was blindfolded. As if tightrope walking between skyscrapers isn’t challenging enough!

When he began his second walk I asked my roommate if she thought he was actually blindfolded, she answered, “I can’t actually see from here.” I suppose from Wallenda’s perspective it was probably hard for him to tell if anyone in the crowds was blindfolded either.

Why I (Almost) Want to Run the Chicago Marathon

By | October 16, 2014

Never have I ever had any sort of a desire to run the Chicago Marathon. I can barely work up the motivation to run a 5K. A friend of mine from high school was so inspired by World Vision (an organization that provides clean water for people in Africa) that she decided to run the marathon this year. At first I thought she was insane, 26.2 miles is about 25 miles too many. But after meeting her at the finish line my perspective on this whole “marathon thing” has changed.

I had never understood just how much determination it takes to run a marathon until I watched Haley train all summer long. She went from being someone who had never run more than a few miles to spending her Saturday’s running 13. Needless to say, I was impressed. I was also blown away by the way she lit up when she got to tell people about why exactly she was running. With a goal of giving people water for life, Haley was so motivated to push herself on race day.

Her best advice is that running a marathon has so much to do with how you feel mentally. Being mostly in your head for over five hours trying to convince your body to not stop moving is a huge test of mental toughness. And I applaud marathoners everywhere for their physical and mental strength.

I couldn’t be motivated to run, but I was definitely motivated to be Haley’s super fan for the marathon. I borrowed a “Team World Vision” t-shirt from her,—which made me look super official on race day—received automated text messages that told me when she hit certain mile markers, and made sure I beat her to the post-race party so that I could give her a huge, congratulatory hug. I also made sure to keep her well-fed upon returning to campus, which involved a couple shakes from Lickity Split (an incredible ice cream and candy shop just south of Lake Shore campus that you have to try).

What really shaped my view of marathons was Chicago’s overwhelming excitement throughout race day. The Chicago Marathon goes through 29 of the city’s neighborhoods and an incredible amount of local pride is made evident as the city makes all the runners feel so welcome. Haley’s favorite part of the race was having the spectators call out her name and genuinely cheer her on—as well as reading the clever posters people made. Chicago’s high energy atmosphere on race day certainly made running all those miles a little easier for the marathoners.

I was so impressed to hear that Haley actually had fun while running and a huge part of that can be credited to the marathon spectators. That same energy got me so excited to be involved in race day festivities that I’ve been thinking, hey maybe someday I could do this too—but don’t hold me to it.