Mama, I made it! Moving all the way from California went about as smoothly as I could have hoped for. Using the variety of renting apps I mentioned in a previous post, I was able to connect with a real estate group called Live Here Chicago. At a huge risk, I went ahead and filled out an application for an apartment, sight-unseen (I did get a video tour.) I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but when apartments are listed and rented within the same day in Chicago, it was either that or spend some nights in a hotel. After being settled in for about 2 weeks now, I can say I am very happy with my decision!
The welcome party is officially over and school is now in full swing. Orientation was filled with plenty of informational and entertaining lectures (shout out to Officer Castañeda and the rest of the security at ICO). At the end of each day, I found myself collapsing in bed from exhaustion– in a good way! The orientation team/leaders/mentors and everybody associated with orientation were always very helpful and accommodating.
Future first years: attend as many ICO events during orientation that you can. This is where you get to hang out with your future classmates outside of school and just explore the city of Chicago together. You’d be surprised with how many people have never been downtown, even those who are from the nearby suburbs!
So far, my expectations of ICO have been well surpassed and I cannot wait for the rest of the school year. Let’s go class of 2020!