If you’re from the suburbs of Chicago, you all know what it’s like for someone to call you out for saying you’re from Chicago, when in fact you grew up just outside the city. Going to school nine hours from home at West Virginia University, when someone asks me where I’m from, I immediately say Chicago. There’s no moment in time where I had to stop and think about my answer before blurting out the city. Though people we tell may not understand why we’d say this, everyone from the suburbs understands.

Growing up in Elgin, there’s plenty to do. Driving only a few miles can bring someone to all they ever need and more. There’s a huge variety of restaurants, with more popping up every year. We have multiple grocery stores, gyms, theaters, shopping malls, nail salons, and more. To others, it may seem like a dream. Except for those who grew up here, we always wanted more. This was because although we lived in Elgin, a suburb of Chicago, we grew up going into the city. The city was a place full of opportunities, somewhere we dreamed of exploring on our own someday. The day your parents let you take the train by yourself with your friends into downtown Chicago is another day closer to independence. It may have taken you weeks to convince your parents that your friends knew their way around, yet the reality was that none of you had a clue, but that was the fun of it.

Although Elgin is a town bigger than most, most people who live in other states have never heard of it. This is one of the reasons why not only college students claim to be from the city, but so do adults traveling across America or even the world. Taking the time to explain where you’re from in relation to Chicago is exhausting and more work than we’d like to put in, considering most of those we tell could really care less about the details. Even though this is part of the reason we claim to be from Chicago, it’s not the only reason.

Since I’m from Elgin, I still think of Chicago as my home. I had the opportunity to visit New York City, a huge city people dream of visiting, for the first time this past spring. I was excited to finally see the Big Apple, but quickly realized how much more I loved Chicago. The city is like home to me, from North Avenue beach to the shops on Michigan Avenue. There’s nothing like going into Gino’s East for a warm deep dish pizza or stopping into Portillo’s for a delicious hot dog. We grew up going to the city, making memories we’d keep for a lifetime. Even if we all go our separate ways and move away, Chicago is a place we’ll always cherish and come back to visit with one another.