THE WINDY CITY sophomores travel to Chicago

Chicago, Illinois is one of the most populated cities in the country — known for its architecture, food and tourist attractions.

Sophomores Zaida Awan and Ranger Kesarapalli visited Chicago last year. Kesarapalli traveled there in May and wanted to explore the city and the prestigious art colleges in the area. As an artist herself, Kesarapalli enjoyed visiting the Art Institute of Chicago.

“The art institute was very minimalist and honestly kind of plain for an art-centered place,” Kesarapalli said,

In her spare time, Kesarapalli visited Willis Tower, one of the largest skyscrapers in the world. This monument can also be seen in the movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” when Bueller and his friends reminisced over their senior year and what they will do in the future.

“Willis Tower is a large building and there’s basically a shopping mall under it and a pretty large food court,” Kesarapalli said.

As there are a lot of tourist attractions in Chicago, the city also hosts a multitude of concerts for popular musicians and aspiring artists.

Known for his famous song “Stick Season,” musician Noah Kahan held a concert in Chicago during early November. When Awan found out about his concert, it didn’t take much persuading before her mom agreed to travel to see her favorite artist live.

“My mom was convinced,” Awan said. “We were like, ‘OK, [in] three days we’re going to Chicago.’”

Although Awan was unable to witness or experience many of the iconic monuments the city has to offer, she was able to see one of her favorite musicans while visiting. Even though the line to get into the venue was long, it was worth it when Awan got to see Noah Kahan.

“When we were waiting and got near his tour bus, he literally came out, got something from his bus, went back in and I just looked at him in shock,” Awan said. “I was so excited. It was probably one of the best experiences of my life.”

|PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ZAIDA AWAN

jackie chang |staff writer

Ferris Bueller only got one day to shine in a parade, but freshman Amelia Hooper has starred in multiple. But unlike Ferris, who entertained the crowd with his singing, Hooper is an Irish dancer and charmed the crowd as she intricately step-danced.

“It’s really fun getting people all excited for [the parade],” she said. “It was good to work with some of my friends too.”

Hooper has been in many different St. Patrick’s Day parades, showcasing her Irish dancing.

“I was in the Brookeside parade, Shawnee Mission parade and then I didn’t do it this year, but I’ve been in the Kansas City parade,” she said. “During the Brookside parade, we did a performance. It was one of the dances they do in ‘Riverdance,’ so it is pretty fun.”

She participated in the parades through her dance studio, Driscoll School of Irish Dance, which treats these St. Patrick’s celebrations as a tradition.

“Our Irish dancers went to the parades to perform and give some spirit for them,” she said. “My dance studio [does] it every year, except for Covid, [which] we were really sad that it was canceled.”

Though the type of dance seems jolly, Hooper shared the dancer’s perspective and said it can be tiring.

“We take a few breaks in between steps but not very many, so it’s basically just all Irish dancing,” she said. “It’s very tiring. Your feet hurt at the end.

I’d say the parade was like an hour and a half. We did a performance in the middle, so it was even more tiring.”

The work put into the performance was physically draining, but the overall experience was enjoyable.

“It’s really fun,” she said. “It’s really good to spread cheer around St. Patrick’s Day.”

Hooper has been dancing since she was 4 years old and participates in the parades annually, so this activity is very close to her.

“I love Irish dancing,” she said. “It’s something that helps me when I’m stressed out.”

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