“I Came Home Early to Find My Parents Packing My Life Away Without Telling Me”

River North—the neighborhood I’d been browsing online for months, the one my mother called “reckless” and “dangerous” like it was a war zone instead of a vibrant Chicago neighborhood full of coffee shops, young professionals, and people walking dogs in expensive jackets.

“Can I think about it for just a second?” I asked, though I already knew my answer.continue reading …