July 3^rd, 2012. A sixteen- (going on seventeen) year-old girl comes out of a plane at O’Hare. She looks around in astonishment and keeps her eyes wide open throughout her car ride to the city. It’s the first time she’s seeing Chicago. The skyscrapers, the lake, the beaches, the neighborhoods – each of them with its personal identity, the huge cars, the people.  

Fast forward to five years later, that girl has become a young woman, recently graduated, who still lives in Chicago and who is – luckily enough – never running short of new hopes and dreams.

It has been exactly five years since I left my hometown of Milan, Italy, and moved to Chicago, the city I have the honor to also call home.

Since this very significant anniversary was coming up, I had decided that I was going to celebrate it by doing something special, something that for some reason scared the shit out of me, yet something that I had wanted to do for a while: yes, you guessed it. Starting a blog.

I know what you’re going to say. Every millennial girl nowadays has a blog. They all think they’re some sort of fashion bloggers. They spend their time pretending to be influencers. And boy, do I agree. But that is not going to stop me at this point, for two main reasons.

First of all, I am loving every second of my millennial existence: I actually love being surrounded by a community of millennial bloggers who are creative and are risk takers: I am constantly inspired by such brave, young people who take a chance to do what they love without worrying about what other people might think.

Secondly, I have been thinking of starting a blog for years. After all, the life I am living is definitely a unique one, one that would be fun to narrate to both my friends in Chicago and the ones in Milan (and, of course, all of the other ones all over the world, too.)

It’s hard to put into words what living in the United States has meant to me over these past five years. It has been a blessing through it all, it has given me countless opportunities, countless friends, countless memories and countless moments of pure joy. I wouldn’t trade my American life for anything in the world.

However, living in the US has also taught me to love my own country. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss Italy and my hometown of Milano. The culture, the lifestyle, the food, the people. My friends. My neighborhood. The walks downtown. The sun. And, you know, having all four seasons (sorry, eight-months-long Chicago winter).

This is exactly what I want to celebrate through this blog: I want to celebrate the two cities I am so lucky to be able to call home, as well as everything in between them. I want to celebrate the streets of Milano and the lights of a clear Chicago night. I want to reminisce the joy of seeing the Cubs win the world series and that of seeing AC Milan win the Champions League or the Scudetto and celebrate in Piazza del Duomo. I want to describe the food scene in Chicago – the best in the world – as well as the delicacies that I love to eat every time I go back to Milano.

I want to showcase the beauty of these two places and share what makes them special.

However, I’m not going to stop there: I also want to celebrate anything that is in between Milano and Chicago: any place I travel, any face I see, any crazy adventure I experience, any delicious food I get to try, anything that tells a story, you will also find here.

If I were to choose categories under which to put this blog, I guess it could fall under a “lifestyle”, or a “travel”, or a “food”, or even a “leisure” blog. But you know me. I’ve never once been “categorical”. So let branding and schemes aside for a second, and just read through my thoughts.

Sit tight and get ready for what’s to come.

Caterina

P.S.: Here’s a more visual representation of then vs now. I haven’t change at all, and I still love my good ol’ tall buildings.