Summer in Chicago is absolute magic. I love the humidity, the deep green that envelops the city lawns, the ivy that grows along chain link fences, the fireflies that mysteriously inhabit my neighborhood at night, the sight of my neighbor's modest backyard gardens. It's really something else and yet, this summer also feels palpably different.

The news cycle may have something to do with it. Not just D.C. news but also, Illinois is going into its third year without a budget (!), which means working in social services right now is especially tough. There's also a part of me that feels unable to sift through the slight discontentness every twenty-something feels when they're not sure what their next step should be.

I ended up being wait-listed at a few graduate schools this spring but never getting accepted. It's encouraging considering the competitiveness of MFA programs but it still means my plan of writing/living somewhere new for a few years needs some reworking. My boyfriend and I were able to fit in a last minute trip to Devil's Lake up in Wisconsin this weekend, and while we were there, we danced around the question we ask each other most days: given anywhere, where would we like to live?

We haven't reached a verdict yet but for now, at least there is still writing early in the morning, making summer meals at night, calling friends on my stoop while my neighbors play hockey in the street, heading away for the weekends and reading wherever I can find a sunny spot (currently: Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle). In short, enjoying the usual, another summer in Chicago, and sincerely hoping we all still have healthcare at the end of the day.

Also, random but worth noting: right as summer hit, 31-year-old Alex Honnold free solo-ed El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, meaning that for the first time, a climber scaled the 3,000 foot wall without a harness or safety gear. This article in the New York Times sums up the magnitude of the feat really well. I'm not an athletic type, or anywhere near as dedicated as Alex Honnold, but every so often I think about it and it makes me happy to know what sheer determination and hard work can produce. 

So on that note, happy summer everyone! Even if it all feels a bit off.