I love Chicago! Vibrant neighborhoods, colorful murals, music and dance, chats on the bus, flying trains, and festivals—Chicago has it all. The internet I was looking at was wrong!
I went to the beach, watched fireworks, went on an architectural tour, and saw the design museum. I am finally having a work-life balance. I often go for walks after returning from the office (thanks to grocery shopping!). I see familiar dogs on the way.
There are also many murals on the streets which look abandoned. The best arts are there! I see them when I pass through the trains. They tell stories that are very different from mine, but still they invoke emotions. They also tell stories that I can relate to, and they see me just like I see them. There are many pieces that make one think about social justice. The intersection of social justice and art is really important to me, so I love them.
I have already worked with three teams: Office, Retail, Multi-housing, and Student Housing. I shadowed six senior designers and helped them create publishing documents like Offering Memorandums and proposals. I am learning new tools like ArcGIS, through which we develop maps and give them design elements. There has been an exponential growth in learning new tools. My favorite part of the map is creating aerial maps. Attaching two herewith.
The growth from the first day at JLL to now has been immense. I have realized that Cornell, CCRC, Gaurishankar (my high school and school), MDF (the organization I worked at before), and my home have prepared me for learning to learn. And learning to learn is the best teaching I have received so far!