Where I Come From 3rd draft

Home

Where are you from?

Chicago

but no, not really

I live in a house with a jungle gym
and a patio in the backyard

In a neighborhood with block parties 

and neighbors that know each other far too well

with kids outside past dark in the summertime
running and inhaling the crisp, clean air as it blows past them

with no pointed gates and bolted doors

no bright lights at night

nothing but stars and branches in the pitch black sky 

It's a suburb just north of Chicago

but no its not a typical suburb

it is not an enclosed community

the neighborhoods are connected by a crossword of roads

with blocks of apartments, shacks, bungalows and mansions

not one to be mistaken with another

then theres downtown

with all of the big-name stores and restaurants 

and people everywhere

Isn't that where Northwestern is?

yes, but its not a typical college town.
The university lies on the edge--

The wildcats are incorporated into this community 

already rich in sports, arts, music, business and 

more

You want to know where I'm from?

go there, grow up there

plant your roots into its soil like the pine tree that towers over my house

no words can describe it, theres nowhere like it

I'm from Evanston and

theres no place like home

In this draft I added the line "The university lies on the edge" in order to show that it wasn't the center of the town, as most college towns have the college as the focus. I changed the line from "with houses--each one drastically unique" to "with blocks of apartments, shacks, bungalows and mansions" to show the variety of houses in the city. Then I added the line "not one to be mistaken with another" to show how although in most suburbs when trying to find a house its easy to get confused because they all look so alike, but that is not the case here.