The ice cold air bites her bones.
She smiles and the wind rattles her teeth.
Glancing up, the tall buildings towering above make her nostalgic for home.
Home with its wide fields, creeks and scorching heat.

Glancing at her watch, she realizes she must hurry or she will be late.
She grabs a taxi, telling the driver her building.
His thick Chicago accent still sounds foreign in her ears,
Even after four years at Northwestern.
She misses the Texan drawl of home.

As the taxi navigates its way through traffic lights and narrow streets,
She looks out the window and the city stares back at her.
The trials and troubles of college, high school, and even middle school
Race through her head as the taxi rattles over potholes and debris.

As the taxi pulls up to her building, she collects her thoughts.
Whatever and wherever her past was,
Chicago is her home now.