Monday, June 7, 2010

Chitown Day 1: My New Hometown


Chic. The perfect picture.


She was darling. Everything about this young lady screamed to be captured. So lovely.


I wondered how they were aquainted. But the bikes, the tattoos...the color.









































After sitting at the corner Panera Bread with my Starbucks perched inconveniently next to my journalism supplies (Flip Camera,recorder, laptop, journal, planner, phone, chargers and cords) I began to realize something extraordinary. Nerves and anxieties aside, this class is slowly revealing to me a new perspective to my city. Never before have I been to Chicago with an agenda other than shopping or leisurely exploration. Now, I have a task: to dissect everything, observe everything...and write it down creating a work of art from what I see. Eagerly and with this new found inspiration in mind, I stuffed my belongings into my backpack and headed out the doors of Panera and into the hustle bustle of Chicago.

I took pictures of everything. An interesting flower, a Mexican man planting a tree, a homeless person with a unique sign, couples, dogs, a woman with a straw hat, sailboats. Anything that struck me as interesting, peculiar, or inspirational. I allowed my mind to wander, think, and create. This day has been the most rejuvenating yet exhausting I have had in a long time.

I have two things on my agenda for tonight in preparation for tomorrow's busy day. At 6pm my class is meeting with Keith Phipps (editor of The Onion) and Fred Mitchell (Sports writer for the Chicago Tribune). After a little sugar rejuvenation at Dairy Queen below our Hostile... I need to compile and send a list of interview questions to someone who will be showing me around Bucktown/Wicker Park tomorrow afternoon. I am meeting with a lovely lady named Georgia who has kindly agreed to keep me company and help take me around this urban neighborhood in Chicago.

At 8pm tomorrow evening, I am attending the concert for The Hudson Branch and interviewing them afterwards. So, their questions will need to be revised and looked over.

Anne Ford, my hopeful mentor and a free lance writer/journalist recommended I brainstorm where I want these article to go. For example, The Hudson Branch or Wicker Park/Bucktown is a story. But, "The Hudson Branch is an emerging band filled with a hopeful group of young performers" is a more concise version. This concept will also begin to take form after the interviews and while writing. Still, it is best to go into the interviews with a direction in mind although all writers know it will be subject to change.

In addition, I will also need to keep in mind who my audience is. Chicagoans or Chicago virgins as this will impact my the directions of my writing immensely.

So, as you can see I have quite the schedule ahead of me. Time to stop blogging and start planning...again!

Alissa

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