I am grateful for Chicago, this city I happened upon almost by accident, in which I have loved and been loved, been heart-broken and broken hearts. Its where I built my career, built a life, and became an adult. I never in a million years imagined that I’d settle in the Midwest or that I’d have to worry about flat Midwestern vowels sneaking into my speech patterns, and yet here I am, 10 years later.

Nelson Algren said it best:

“Yet once you’ve come to be part of this particular patch [Chicago], you’ll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real.” From Chicago: City on the Make (1951)