Hey all, my name is Hannah Colborn! I'm a sophomore at Loyola majoring in communication studies, and I have three minors: photography, sociology, and pastoral studies. I grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit, but I've loved every minute of my time in Chicago. I am so grateful for the opportunity to live and learn at Loyola.
I’ve lived downtown in Loyola’s Baumhart residence hall for almost nine months now. I have loved being on the Water Tower Campus right in the heart of the best city in the world.
There are always glamorous people around and fun things going on downtown. Yesterday, however, I had my first celebrity siting EVER– some friends and I casually bumped into actor Vince Vaughn and his family strolling down Michigan Avenue late Saturday morning.
I am embarrassed to say that I was more than a little starstruck. A friend and I were mid-conversation when I saw him and his wife pushing a stroller. My first thought was “hey, that guy looks an awful lot like Vince Vaughn.” It took me half a second to realize it was actually him, at which point I punched my friend in the arm, pointed and stared.
I did probably the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to do when you want to remain cool in front of somebody famous. We made eye contact, he saw me gawking and uttered a casual “Hey, how ya doing,” and continued walking. The poor man probably can’t even walk down the street with his wife and child without being gawked at, and I just made it worse. I felt terrible!
Vince pictured with Reese Witherspoon in the movie Four Christmases. What a stud! (Photo via TRF_Mr_Hyde/Flickr)
Here are some of the photos that I turned in for a recent assignment for my Photojournalism class. The course is offered through the School of Communication at Loyola’s Water Tower Campus. Our professor led the class to the Holy Name Cathedral, an historic Catholic church next to campus. We were given half an hour to represent different elements of the sanctuary and the people in it.
It’s crunch time here at Loyola, time to begin the countdown to the final weeks of the semester. I’ve been super busy with school and running around trying to get things done before heading home for a quick Easter trip. I’ve been working, fundraising for my mission trip that I’m taking in May, completing assignments, taking exams in my classes and trying to plan out my class schedule for next semester.
I’ve also been working on plans with a few friends to live in an apartment off campus together for the next school year. At Loyola, students are required to live in campus residence halls for their first two years, so next year will be my first opportunity to move off campus and get my own place! I’m super stoked!
I’m going to miss living on the Water Tower Campus in Baumhart, but it will be nice to move back up north and be a part of the beautiful Lake Shore Campus again. My future roommates and I have been conversing with a potential landlord about leases and credit checks and adult stuff that I know nothing about. It’s definitely been a learning experience. I think we’re on the right track so far to move in to a place on the south side of campus near the Granville Red Line station, Metropolis Coffee and Pete’s Pizza. Can’t wait! Cross your fingers for me that everything goes as planned!
I was able to take a break from crossing things off my to-do list this weekend to see some awesome concerts with some awesome people. On Friday, I had plans to meet up with some friends from Illinois Statue University and Northwestern University to see a show by a band called Lovedrug. On Friday afternoon before the show, I knew the band was scheduled to do an interview with Fearless Radio, a really cool internet radio station in Chicago. I tuned in to the interview and actually tweeted to both the band and the radio station on Twitter— and the band gave me a shootout on the radio! I was ecstatic! The concert was later that evening at the Beat Kitchen on Belmont, a venue that I had never been to before. It was pretty small— more like a bar or a restaurant— but it was so intimate that I was able to walk right up and meet the band right after the show. Very cool!
We were able to get right up against the stage for the show at the Beat Kitchen. This is my friend Evan just before Lovedrug is about to start their set; as you can see he’s super excited to be so close!—
Saturday night I saw a little bit bigger of a show at the Riviera Theatre. One of my favorite bands, Needtobreathe, played a sold out show, and it was awesome! It was PACKED, but the energy in the place was really cool. Needtobreathe was so great live. And I always love shows at the Riviera!
My friend Erin and I at the venue after the show!—
By now my fellow bloggers have already dished about St. Patrick’s Day in the city. One of the greatest things for me about everyone being out and about on the holiday weekend with the gorgeous weather was being able to people watch. The highlight of my St. Patrick’s Day (besides seeing the river dyed NEON green) was grabbing dinner with a friend at Chick-Fil-A downtown and taking it to the plaza surrounding the historic Chicago Water Tower. We camped out for an hour or so and got to watch crazy people all hyped up for the holiday and dressed head to toe in green. I have never seen so many people in one place in my life! Michigan Ave was packed. I’m already looking forward to the next St. Patrick’s Day weekend in the city!
Graffiti and urban art have always fascinated me. Police and property owners see graffiti as a terrible inconvenience, but I love looking at the lines and curves trespassing artists leave behind. It may be illegal, but it certainly is an art form.
Check out this awesome graffiti mural I stumbled across today painted just south of campus near the Granville Red Line stop–
This is just part of it; the mural stretches across an entire building. I did some Googling and found that this mural isn’t the only one of its kind– it’s part of a project called “Before I Die” started by a woman in her own neighborhood in New Orleans in February 2011. Since then, the murals have been painted around the world: Amsterdam, London, Portsmouth, Queretaro, Almaty, San Diego, Lisbon, Brooklyn and Melbourne… and now it has come to Chicago.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget what really matters to you,” Good News Only writes. “This wall is a temporary installation where we can learn the hopes and dreams of the people around us.”
I just got back to Baumhart after a long day of traveling. I took the MegaBus back from Detroit this afternoon and arrived back at Union Station a few hours ago! After unpacking and organizing some things, I feel settled back into my Loyola life. I’m sad that spring break is already over, but excited to get going with the rest of the semester, and already looking forward to summer!
My spring break was good– the perfect relaxing week that I needed. I was able to spend some time at home with my family in Detroit and also fly down to Florida to hang out with my sister, her husband and two sons. My nephews are the cutest!
I am looking forward to next weekend– it will be my first St. Patrick’s Day spent in the city. Every year the city puts on a grand parade and dyes the Chicago River bright green! I have a few midterm exams to get through this week, but Saturday will be an incentive to do well and get through them!
There is a ton of stuff going on in the city for St. Pat’s– check out Metromix Chicago’s Guide to St. Patrick’s Day 2012 for ideas of places to hit. A lot of events are geared towards the over-21 party crowd, but us underagers can still have a lot of fun in the city this next weekend! Can’t wait!
Here is a photo of Chicago’s green river on St. Patrick’s Day a few years ago– no filter necessary, the river is BRIGHT green! I can’t wait to see it for myself!
Just finished my book– “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close“ by Jonathan Safran Foer. It was so great! I got through the last couple of pages on the shuttle from Lakeshore Campus to Water Tower Campus late last night. The novel presented a really unique perspective on the events of September 11, 2001, given from a nine-year-old boy whose father died in the World Trade Center that day. I highly recommend it!
I used to read all the time and have missed it greatly; I’ve made a sort of late New Year’s resolution to start reading again. It makes the time pass so quickly when traveling between campuses on the shuttle or the CTA! Next on my list: “Her Fearful Symmetry“ by Audrey Niffenegger (the author of the great novel “The Time Traveler’s Wife“). Can’t wait to get started!
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”by Jonathan Safran Foer
Chicago weather has certainly been weird lately. Last fall, rumors were flying that this winter would be one of the harshest in Chicago history, which got everybody expecting the worst following last February’s Snowpocalypse. But we’ve had such a mild winter– we’ve been spoiled by 40-50 degree temperatures, mostly sunny skies and almost no snowfall at all! Today, on the other hand, was a little more teeth chattering. Maybe my skin has thinned!
But TONIGHT there is a Winter Weather Advisory in effect for the city. We’re getting four to six inches of snow by morning! So excited! Finally, real winter weather.
Since I’ve been thinking about the weather I’ve had this song stuck in my head.
Time has been both dragging on and speeding by. I am grateful it is already Wednesday and am looking forward to heading home for spring break in a week and a half. There is so much to be done before then though! This is midterm season, which means it’s prime time for professors to schedule lots of quizzes, exams and assignments due within the next week or so. It’s getting pretty hectic!
One of the things that’s been getting me through the day is this new book I am reading, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer. The movie equivalent is in theaters right now, but I heard how great the book was and vowed to read it before I watched. So far it’s been great. The story is mostly told from the point of view of a very unique 10-ish-year-old boy whose father died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. A year or two after his father’s death, the boy sets out to solve this sort of scavenger hunt his father left for him. It’s really interesting but I’m only 100 pages in!
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer
Things have been so busy this past week! I’m beginning to get pretty homesick, and am very much looking forward to heading home for spring break in just two short weeks. I can’t believe it’s almost here already, but I’m also really glad!
My 20th birthday was this past weekend– some friends and I went out to dinner to T.G.I. Friday’s downtown to celebrate. We had a great time!
Here’s me (on the left) with two friends enjoying our deserts!
Now that we’re several weeks into the semester at Loyola, it seems like professors are starting to pile on the classwork. I have quizzes and assignments due left and right in all of my classes. I’m doing my best to maintain my sanity!
I have friends from home coming in town this upcoming weekend– I’m very excited to welcome them when their train gets in tonight to Union Station downtown. We have plans to do some touristy things and then go our to dinner on Friday, hit up Skating in the Sky at the John Hancock Observatory on Saturday, and then go to a concert at the Riviera Theatre Saturday night. I will write again after the weekend and hopefully have lots of fun pictures to share!
