Gold Coast, Chicago - Therapy With or Without Spending a Dime

When I first began to attend a gym in the Gold Coast, I found myself walking every night all the way back to the ROW dorms. Crazy, I know, and yes, somewhat unsafe. I would put on my Blue Tooth headset and walk along the street, amongst the gorgeous apartments and boutiques while catching up with my mom or grandmother. I did this two to three times a week, enjoying the ability to take my time, walk slowly, watch the people and peek into store-fronts or marvel at the old Victorian-styled housing. A few times I would sit on the steps of the big cathedral church on Wabash when I wasn't on the phone and think. I've never been a religious person, but something about sitting there was comforting.

Other times, I would make my way east on Oak instead of going south on Clark or Wabash and find myself alone at the beach, listening to the soft crash of each rolling wave that hit the concrete walls, condos behind me, Lincoln Park's trees to my north, and the busy, glowing Magnificent Mile to the south. It was peaceful, just as the church's steps were, a little sanctuary that provided peace of mind.

After becoming entranced with the Gold Coast, taking a different route home every time, I began to go back during the day to see what it was like when the shops were open and more people were around. Even with the added noise and bodies walking the streets, it still felt like therapy. There was a sweet sense of friendliness and welcoming aura that surrounded the tiny little parks, the black iron fences, the cozy little apartments, the couples walking their dogs, arm in arm... It was almost as if it were straight out of Breakfast at Tiffany's, an Audrey Hepburn classic, and one of my favorite movies of all time. There were the shiny windows of boutiques of brands I coveted in magazines that seemed to yearn for my credit cards, but most of the time I refrained and continued my quiet walks. Even though I didn't live in the Gold Coast, I found myself drawn to it whenever I felt frustrated, troubled, or feeling lonely. Sometimes, I would just take a book and find one of the little parks to sit and read on a bench with a cup of coffee and watch the dogs and kids play. All the sudden, the "mean reds," as Holly Golightly called bad emotions, would slip away. I felt like Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw walking around Manhattan, or Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly.

Sometimes, I would find myself walking the streets of the Gold Coast without even knowing how I got there after leaving my dorm room to find solace, the feelings of being lost gone. I know a lot of people say the Gold Coast is home to the rich stiffs and the trendy-wealthy, but to me it was therapy, with or without my credit cards needed.