I am from the Windy City.

Where people of every heritage and race come together to live as one.

I am from a unified city but segregated neighborhoods.

Where we have new neighborhoods around every corner.

Little Village, Little Italy, Gage Park, Chinatown, Logan Park.

I am from the “L”.

Where you take one color and end up in another.

Where a single Fun Pass can take you anywhere you desire in Chicago.

It can take you from museums of sciences and art, to shopping in the Magnificent Mile.

I am Chicago.

I am from bipolar weather every month.

I am from sixty degrees in February to blizzards in March.

I am from other cities thinking 30 degrees is freezing , to us thinking it’s warm out.

I am from checking very carefully to see if school is closed.

From schools not being shut down even if there is 10 feet of snow outside.

I am the scorching heat in the summer, to the paleteros on every street corner.

I am Chicago.

I am from walking downtown and knowing how to get to my destination.

I am from the crazy taxi drivers who drive like maniacs.

I am from crowded train stations.

From not having personal space to being stepped on by people who are in a rush to get in and out of the train.

I am from the rush hour after work and during big events. To being in traffic for so long, I forget for a split second where I was headed in the first place.

I am Chicago.

I am from Chicago.

Where the “Willis Tower” will always be the Sears Tower, no matter what people say.

I am from Navy Pier and the home of the first ferris wheel.

I am from the Gay Parade and the Taste of Chicago.

Where people of different nationalities and different parts of the city, along with various places in the United States, come together to celebrate.

I am from the boats and sandcastles on the beaches of Lake Michigan.

I am from the Bean at Millennium Park, where tourists come to see the heavens in the Cloud Gate.

I am Chicago.

I am from the north and south rivalry. From the White Sox and Cubs fans going head to head to prove their team is better.

I am from the Bulls making comebacks and Blackhawks on a winning streak.

I am from Da Bears and the Chicago Fire.

I am Chicago.

I am from every type of music integrating in the city.

I am from jazz and blues.

From the House of Blues to the jazz clubs.

I am from the birthplace of house music to where hip-hop was influences.

From the Cha Cha Slide being a city wide known dance.

From Lollapalooza to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

I am Chicago.

I am from Chi-Town.

I am from the tall buildings and even bigger people with such different histories and stories.

I am not from Illinois, I am from Chicago.

I am a Chicagoan.