Monday, September 24, 2012
Are "Good" Neighborhoods Really that "Good"?
Our discussions in class lately about different areas of Chicago and how abnormal the part of the city we live in is got me thinking whether the North Shore, in Mr. O'Conner's words, is such a "nice" area to live in after all. Of course there are endless things I really enjoy about living here that give it the label of being "nice". Everything is so close and easy, the streets are a really pleasant place to be with all the old trees, and most importantly I have never felt threathened or unsafe in any part of this area. Basically we have everything we need in this little bubble of space. You could have a very comfortable life without leaving the north shore once. However, I think that's exactly the problem. Many of us, with our busy schedules, don't really get out of this area very often. I'm sure we've all been able to travel and experience other surroundings, but on a daily basis were pretty much in this sheltered area. Once you get out of the North Shore and interact with others that don't live here and don't have the same kind of life, thats when you truly understand how lucky we are. But what I've found is you also realize how little you actually know about a life other than yours, and that's not a good thing. Two summers ago, I went on a trip to Europe with an organization that takes high school kids from a certain area to places around the world. My two friends and I went on the trip with kids from all over Chicago, and we were the only north shore kids in the group. I never saw this coming, but it was actually a lot harder than I thought to "fit in" with everyone and make friends with the other kids. Once they found out we were from the North Shore, we were automatically labeled the rich kids and no one really looked at us in the way they saw each other. At the beginning, they saw us as these people they couldn't relate to in any way, and the thing that bothered me is that in some ways, I felt I couldn't realte to them about many things either. It amazed me how hard some of these kids and their families worked to save up the money for the trip. Many of them had fundraisers at their school and community. One boy hosted multiple pancake breakfasts at his church to save up the money. My two friends and I didn't really bring up costs at all with our parents, because we never needed any help with it. At times I felt a little like a fish out of water with that group, because it was so far from the New Trier type of experience I encouter day to day. Of course there were many nice people that I ended up making friends with, but in general, we were highly judged because of where we came from. Looking back on that, it made me realize that no matter how cultured and intelligent we think we are at New Trier, living here just blocks us from experiencing a life anywhere outside our own. Sure, New Trier is an awesome school with huge academic success rates, but when it comes to relating to kids that aren't from anywhere like the North Shore, we struggle. Many kids who live here don't really know what it feels like to not fit in, because so much is provided for us. In my opinion this is a problem, because when kids like us enter the "real world," and interact with people outisde the North Shore that live a completely different lifestyle, we won't be fully equipped to relate to other people. We have been so conditioned to think in a mindset and act in a way that is perfectly acceptable for life here, but makes it hard to succeed socially and in other aspects in the outside world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you that New trier and the north shore are a bubble, and we are not exposed to much by living here. It does have a negative impact on our lives. But how is it possible to fix this? Only certain people are able to live here because of the cost of expenses, so that already narrows down the types of people that can live here. Also, people tend to live with others like them, adding to the lack of diversity in the area. So, it would be very difficult to get rid of this bubble and expose ourselves to the outer life. It is just a problem we will have to deal with unless drastic changes are made.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Hannah. The noth shore bubble is cut of from most diversity but there is not really a way to change that. When I did my interview this last week, the woman I interviewed gre up in Northbrook. She mentioned how sheltered she felt and how she wouldn't chose that if she had the choice. She has two very young daughters and has chosen to raise them in the city for this reason. She wants them to experience hardship and grow up in a more diverse society, which is completely respectable.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, bullying is something that has been around for a very long time. I am not exactly sure why people do it though. It may be because bullying helps some feel better about themselves? Or it may be because some do not know what to do when someone looks or acts different from them, so they resort to bullying? Whatever the case may be it is completely unnecessary. While many feel safer when they are with people that are similar to themselves, we as humans, need to step out of our comfort zones and embrace others who share qualities that are not so similar to ourselves, embrace different.
ReplyDeleteOlivia,
ReplyDeleteApart from this enormous block of text and misspelling Mr. O'C's name, this is a deeply affecting reflection. Oftentimes, in Social Service, we lament exactly what you expressed: "New Trier is an awesome school with huge academic success rates, but when it comes to relating to kids that aren't from anywhere like the North Shore, we struggle". How can we educate the entire school better in this area?
It's refreshing to read this perspective. I wonder what you will do from this point on.