“I’ve neverthought I’d meet a girl like this. I had no skills talking to girls and never dated one until before graduating from college. I met her at afriend’s party and we talked all night. I asked her out before my sister’swedding and she was my plus one on the wedding. I knew something wasdifferent from that day. Yesterday, we said ‘Yes’ to each other.”
“I came to the states 13 years ago. It was funny to say that I actually came to Chicago in tears. I was in Virginia for school and got job offer in here after graduated from college. You know Chicago was so different 10 years ago, homeless people were walking at downtown and I felt dangerous all the time. I cried every night. Maybe I look great now, have everything I want, I have my own business, but I was a cowardly, shy girl when I first got here.”
“I grow up in a big city, I fly back and forth between Chicago, LA and New York for job business. But I found out somehow I lost my interest staying in big cities. I spent 5 years in a small town in New Mexico, it has nothing there, no malls, no chinatowns, no neon lights, it has nothing to do with fancy lives. I just don’t know why articlethat after all these years I have finally achieved what I wanted, but I began to miss that desert every night when I’m alone.”
“I came to the states because of a exchange student program. I’m a Brazilian. Here is so different from where I from. The person I missed the most is my boyfriend. I was crying crying crying before I came here knowing he couldn’t come with me. He is my soulmate, I just want to fly back and hug him.”
“I grow up in Burma, a country in south-east, but my families are Chinese, they immigrated to Burma for work decades ago. So I can speak a little bit Chinese. I went back to Burma during winter break to see my sister, she is in Germany for the most of time for school and I’m in Chicago. We always share our lives with each other, so I can know what lives look like in Europe and she gets to know about America too.”
“As a foreigner, I never thought Chicago can be that understanding. I thought people live in big cities are just like those saying, they should be cold blooded, selfish and profit-driven. There are so many homeless people in the city, but I have seen homeless people giving their food to homeless dogs, and help each other. I was surprised. I think Chicago has its beauty not just because its skyline, but also people who live here. ”
“Before I came to the United States, I heard that people in different race have different ‘little groups’. Like Chinese only play with Chinese people, mostly. I don’t want to live like that. I came from China, I came to here to live like an American, not just live the same life in different city. I went to lots of events. I never hesitated presenting myself. I made lots of friends from different nations. I can say right now I’m living a life I feel right.”
“I started my company 27 years ago. Now I have thousands of employees work for me. But it was never easy. I still couldn’t forget those nights I stayed up thinking about ideas, making phone calls to my clients and put up with those un-trustness, betrayal and failure. Chicago is where I started and this city has been giving me so many surprises. I do think it is better for young people who want to fight for their future.”
“You know sometimes, if you have some parts that look different from other people, they would stare at you and look you with their interesting eyes, I know they think i’m abnormal. I don’t like this kind of feeling. I’m tall, I’m always the tallest boy in school, I’m 195 cm, and people would still looking at me when I walk down the street. I think maybe it would be easier to change the way I think about those attentions other than change others about how they look at me.”
“I want to give people smiley face when they see me. People always ask me why I look so happy everyday, I was not like this years ago. I’m from a small town where being a gay is not okay, especially in my family. So I left. I wen to school, I took classes of cosmetics, and I found I’m really good at this. Doing make-ups for people and see them being pretty can really light me up.”
