My neighborhood paper

 

   My Neighborhood Paper Final Draft                                                                                9/17/15

            I wake up to the babbling laughter of children outside. I look outside and see my neighbor has let her grandchildren play with some toys in the yard. It’s alright, it’s about time for me to get up anyway. I get out of bed and walk downstairs and get ready to make myself some breakfast. The windows are open downstairs and a cool breeze flows through the house as well as bright rays that beam down from the morning sun. I make myself a bowl of cereal and sit down to begin the most important meal of the day. I hear the hum of cars as they drive one by one past my house on the busy street. As I finish my bowl of cereal I get up to put the bowl in the sink. I see a squirrel hop across the top of the backyard fence through the window above the sink. The squirrel then scampers off into a pine tree in the flood basin. I then proceed to put on my shoes, pack my school bag, and step outside.

It’s a relatively warm day, but if you were to step in to the shade you’d get some chills. The neighbors have let their grandchildren back in and all is quiet for a short period of time while there is a break in the passing cars. The silence is then immediately drowned out by a gust of wind that rattles all the green oak tree leaves eclipsing the street. I begin my short walk to the train station through the cool sunny morning weather. As I walk I notice that most of the passing cars are SUV’s carrying a child or teenager with a backpack and a parent behind the wheel. They are all probably heading to the high school down the block or the elementary school one block further. There are a few people on the sidewalk, not too many. They are either walking they’re dog, going for a run, or just simply enjoying a morning walk.  A lady walking her dog in the opposite direction down the sidewalk approaches me. Not many people around here know each other very well, including me, so we just exchange a good morning and a nod as we pass each other. I can hear the noises of animals above my head in the trees while on my stroll. It’s as if there is a loop playing of birds chirping and an occasional cicada drone. The chirps however are quite enjoyable and give you this good morning feel. Most of the houses I pass have the same concept: two stories, a small backyard, a driveway, and a garage at the end of it. Same goes for the cars parked outside of the houses. They are all either sedans or SUV’s with Nissan and Toyota being the most recurring brand of car. The grass is trimmed nicely on each lawn and it appears that each person cares about how their house looks on the outside. This street must look nice for people just passing by.

The noise of cars becomes louder as I draw up on the highway and take a left towards the train station. I am now walking parallel to the highway and you can hear the zoom of cars passing by on their commute to the city. Also, occasionally you can hear the sound of a silver CTA train clunking on by. Right after I turn I come up on the end of the sidewalk and have to walk on grass and small weeds for a while. I can see foot prints in the mud of this common used path. I cross a small side street and see groggy eyed children walking out of their houses and into their parent’s car not yet ready for school. As I get closer to train station I pass by my friend from elementary school’s house. I immediately remember the graduation party we had in his backyard, which can be seen over the short fence. Suddenly the green path ends and I’m back on the sidewalk.

After one more block I reach the train station and the noise of cars beeping and engines revving fill the air. It is quite nauseating but it goes away soon as I enter the station. I swipe my card and walk down to the platform where people wait for the train. I see mostly students waiting for the next train. I spot my friend among the crowd of students and board the next train towards the loop with him. I now wait for my arrival at my second neighborhood, Whitney Young High School.