Day 7 - Training

I felt on top of the world.  But the excitement of 2000 wasn't quite over with my summer at the SFO.  I had one more adventure up my sleeve.  While I loved my time at Allegheny College, it didn't exactly excite me to be living in Meadville, PA and I couldn't head back there just yet.  I was dying to experience life in a big city.  New York seemed a little too scary.  Los Angeles was a bit too far. 

So?  I took a leave of absence from Allegheny and temporarily transferred myself to the Illinois Institute of Art  in Chicago.  The purpose?  Well, I wanted training in fashion, I wanted to study the history of the industry and have an opportunity to learn everything I could from people who understood my passion for fashion. And I wanted that big city experience.

Repartir, cette fois a Chicago...

I had just spend the past 9 months really living it up.  As my 21st birthday was closing in on me, I packed up again and moved to Chi-Town to chill for the Fall Semester of my junior year, yet again stepping into an unknown territory. 

I had no idea what to expect in my classes, who my roommates would be, what my living conditions would be, how long it would take to get from Schaumburg to downtown Chicago or how I'd get there.  I didn't know who I'd spend my weekends with or if I would have any friends. 

And THAT is when I met Michael L. Graziani.  Completely out of the blue...