Over the last few months I finally got to experience summer in Chicago without snow and dreary weather! And it was incredible! Since I’ve been working in Pilsen, a neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side, I fell in love with it so here is my guide to the best of Pilsen. From food to culture, Pilsen is one of the greatest neighborhoods Chicago has to offer. I’ve been working near the 18th street pink line stop, so most of these recommendations are within walking distance of it. Gentrification in Pilsen Over the last decade, Pilsen has experienced rising rents and increased development as neighborhoods like West Loop on its north side…
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7 Books to Read Before Summer Ends
With a commute like mine, I’ve been reading about a book a week. From poetry to nonfiction to an office survival guide, I’ve gotten my hands on tons of books this summer. There are only a few weeks left before an endless barrage of Foucault, Rousseau, and Marx take hold of my free time so these are my must reads. It’s hard to find time to read for fun during the school year. After a long day of required readings and countless hours in the library, sometimes all I can do is watch another episode of a sitcom as I get ready for bed (I just cried over finishing Friends). When…
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Vegan for a Month
My meal planning struggles have reached new heights this summer, since I have to cook all my meals, so I asked my cousin, Kaitlyn, to write about her experience trying the hardest thing in the whole world: her month meal planning as a vegan. Veganism. Carnivores everywhere clutch their steaks in disbelief and pray it isn’t contagious. Family members furtively assure themselves it’s a phase and will be long over with by Thanksgiving. The rest of the world looks on in various stages of derision and apathy at the tree-hugging hippie trying in vain to save the cows. Take it from me. In my extensive month as a vegan (plus…
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I Tried (and Hated) SoulCycle | #DoYouEvenLiftRo
After running the marathon and trying CorePower Yoga, I decided it was time to try another cult exercise class, SoulCycle. I wanted to do a whole month of classes, and spent the spring saving so I could afford them. I was so excited to try it, so you can imagine my disappointment when I finally took my first few classes. Honestly, I’m the ideal SoulCycle client. Health-conscious millennial blogger that I am, I love exercise, loud music, and cardio. SoulCycle should’ve been the single greatest addition to my exercise plan. I planned to try a whole month of classes, saved money for them, and even talked my mom and my…
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Namaste Beaches: My Week at CorePower Yoga | #DoYouEvenLiftRo
After the marathon, I figured it’d be good to spend my exercise time doing something a little less extreme to my body. In my eyes, there really isn’t anything that puts less stress on your body than yoga so I decided it was time to give yoga another try. I challenged myself to a week where I went to a CorePower Yoga (CPY) class every day (which is convenient, since CPY offers a free week of Yoga). CPY has a cult following on campus primarily populated by girls in other sororities so I decided it was time to claim a spot for mine. I recruited my sisters that stuck around…
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Working Woman: Keep Your Commute from Getting to You
Today, I spent 3 hours on public transportation, trying to get to and from work (don’t I sound like an adult?!). The bus was crowded both ways and that summer heat caused some pretty serious BO. This week will be a little worse than normal- thank you, Taste of Chicago– so here is how I plan to beat those commuter blues this week and for the rest of the summer. I’m no stranger to commutes, now that I’ve been living off campus for a year, but my 15 minute bus ride was nothing. Now, I’ve joined the masses in the mass migration downtown. The worst part about this is that…
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End of Year Review 2016-2017
What a year! In a whirlwind, I’m ~officially~ halfway done with college and I made it out (mostly) alive. Remember those goals I had for the year? Well, here is how they went and a sneak preview of what the summer could have in store for me! This year was a rollercoaster of emotion. Life knocked me down a few times, but I came back better than ever, and am ready to take on the world. As you know, at the end of every quarter, I try to do a comprehensive life review-here are the Fall and Winter incarnations- to make sure that I am on the right track. The…
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I Ran A Half-Marathon! How Race Training Changed My Life | #DoYouEvenLiftRo
After months of hard work, I did it! I made running a half marathon my goal, stuck to my exercise plan, learned how to eat healthy, and finally made it to the race day. This was my experience figuring out how to make this goal a reality and how it felt to finally run 13.1 miles. Deciding to Do it Growing up in Boston, everyone would go out to support the runners every Marathon Monday and I could picture adult-me running the race. When I started running in high school, the marathon felt more like a dream that I’d never realized. This year, when I set some goals for the school year, I…
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Cooking Without a Kitchen: One Girl + One Microwave + One Meal Plan
As you know, I have been attempting to meal plan! I’ve been struggling with it, so this week, I asked my friend Katie to share her experience with meal prep. Working in Washington, DC for her spring semester, she’s had to learn how to live on her own and tackle everything from commuting to work to living without a dining hall (and she even found time to train for a marathon with me!). Hi everyone, I’m Katie, and I am super excited and honored to be doing a guest post for Rosana’s blog this week! I am in the middle of my sophomore year as a physics major when I decided…
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Winter Came, I Saw, and I Conquered: Winter Quarter Review
The last twelve weeks have been a whirlwind of events and amazingly, we’ve made it to the end of another quarter. With the new projects I’ve been pursuing while taking classes, my life has become increasingly complicated. Despite pushing myself harder than ever before, overall I had the best quarter I’ve had since starting college. This is what I discovered worked for me and what I’ll be carrying over into my Spring Quarter. Quarter Diagnostic Just like last quarter, I am doing a complete review of my life so that I can keep improving. Inspired by Lisa Jacobs from Marketing Creativity, I completed a review of my achievements for the…
