On the life of a professional gay

Greetings from the fabulous, unpretentious, and (very, very) affordable city of Chicago. I am halfway through my thirteenth week as the Director of Community Relations & Outreach at the Center on Halsted, the largest center for the LGBTQA community in the Midwest. The work has been surprisingly challenging. The staff is amazing, thoughtful, and intentional. The experience has been a real education. Let me share three important lessons I have had to learn.

1. Community organizing is hard. I remember being very pretentious about how I was going to be a community organizer in Chicago during my last two months at Princeton. One of the founding tenets of community organizing is that people have solutions to their problems. Community organizers serve as catalysts who create solutions-driven synergies between different stakeholders. Well, guess what? People have different, and at times divergent, agendas, biases, and fears. In response to high-profile violent incidents and the resulting, and at times divisive, community dialogue, the Center decided to form a task force to think strategically about how to make our neighborhood, Lakeview, safer and more inclusive for all.

That was the first major project I was to spearhead. 30 + 1:1 meetings and three confidential strategy sessions later, we launched the Lakeview Safety & Inclusion Coalition (LSIC). LSIC is a neighborhood-based coalition of residents, business owners, elected officials, clergy, vulnerable young adults, and social service providers. Forming it was surprisingly challenging. Maintaining its relevance and expanding its potential is even more daunting. But every challenge around LSIC has been a learning opportunity. Now that the summer months are over, LSIC is working quietly on strategic initiatives to make Lakeview better prepared for next summer.

2. Living fully takes deliberate practice. I certainly miss the convenience and proximity to opportunities that my beloved Princeton gave me. But I have to say that I adore the life I am leading - or more accurately, I love the challenges that my current life is throwing my way. Yes, I still have to deal with some anxieties. But my anxieties are not based on letter grades, papers, or problem sets. I find myself anxious about how to know that I am making a meaningful impact, how to be creative without overstepping the boundaries of my job, how to give voice to the visions that inspired me to come to Chicago -- really cool questions, don't you think?

Don't get me wrong, though. I work very hard in order to excel at what I do. Yes, I have had a lot of 60-hour weeks. But the cool thing is that when I leave this Center that I love so much, I can leave it behind. In fact, I choose to leave my work behind. Not only because I can but also because I must in order to take care of myself. That's often hard, especially for those of us who belong to the passionate kind. But boundaries are necessary. After work, I will usually go to the gym (2 blocks away) -- huh huh, professional gay = gym bunny; it's inevitable. And when it comes to food, ouuuh HONEY. The Center is attached to a Whole Foods. Trader Joe's is not far, and my neighborhood, Rogers Park, has phenomenal fresh markets. And when I get home, I know that some great, fresh food and some smooth vino is always on hand. Living fully, taking our time to enjoy whatever we are doing and/ or whoever we are with takes practice, deliberate practice. But trust me, it's totally worth it.

3. Chicago is just fabulous. Don't even get me started. Yes, it is an egregiously segregated city. And no one in AlumniCorps is immune to the ramifications of that segregation on their work and daily lives. But I am SO grateful that all the fellows are aware, and experience some discomfort with the depth of segregation in the city. Discomfort is important. It keeps us grateful for our privilege.

But Chicago... this city has SO much to offer. We just love to get it in and have a good time here. I love Lake Michigan so much. I don't know how many times I have biked along it, or just sat by it on many evenings this past summer. The food is just fabulous. Take my upcoming birthday for instance. Once I leave the Center after work, I'll be going to Happy Hour with the Ivy League and Sister Schools LGBT Alumni Association. Then, I'm going to a dinner party thrown by the Regional Coordinator for AlumniCorps in a fab space that overlooks the Lake and the Chicago River. And this weekend is going to be full of brunch, jazz, food, workouts, and the good life. Living the life of a professional gay in Chicago. Oooouuuhhh.

How is P55? Awesome.
What do I like most about it? The challenge it is giving me to do what I love and live fully.
Do I recommend it? Yes. Yes. And YES.

Go P55.