Madeline Brooks’s tattoo was a way to say goodbye to the Windy City she calls home. A tattoo of the Chicago skyline sits on the inner arm of the senior television, radio and film major.

Having lived in Chicago her entire life, Brooks will move to Los Angeles after graduation. Her family will also be moving out of Chicago around the same time.

“My dad grew up on the south side of Chicago and comes back to the city all the time. My grandmother is still in Chicago and raised her children there,” Brooks said, “It shaped so much of who I am.”

Her family’s deep history in Chicago was one of the major reasons behind Brooks’s tattoo. Not only did both of her parents grow up in Chicago, but her 99-year-old grandmother was the only woman in her graduating class at Northwestern University.

Brooks said the skyline serves as a kind of therapy for her. It always made her feel better in hard times throughout her childhood, and it continues to do so today.

“There were a lot of times in high school where I was going through stuff, and I have this spot by Lake Michigan where I just look out at the skyline and know that everything is going to be OK,” she said.

Brooks said this winter will be last time she will be going back to her home in Chicago. Winter is her favorite season in the city because her family has so many Christmas traditions. Brooks is the captain of the Syracuse figure skating team and during the winter, she gets to share her love with figure skating with Chicago.

“I love to go on the ice ribbon in Millennium Park, it’s almost right next to the lake and when you look up behind you you’re just like wow, I’m skating amongst all these huge beautiful buildings,” she said.

Brooks admits it is going to be hard to no longer live there, but she said there aren’t enough career opportunities in Chicago for her to move there after graduation. She hopes to work in scripted television after college.

Every time Brooks looks down at her tattoo, she is reminded of all the memories she has from growing up in the city, from sailing on Lake Michigan with her dad to sneaking her friends up to the roof of her mother’s condo to see a view of the skyline and the lake.

She said even though her tattoo is simple, it holds so much happiness for her.

“It’s one of my favorite things to look at. I made a painting of it and put it over my bed. It almost feels magical in how it just makes me feel better,” she said.

Published on October 18, 2016 at 12:01 am