It’s surprisingly okay.
I’m just kidding, sort of. I think this is an interesting prompt to talk about since I myself am not initially from this area. I used to live in upstate New York and moved here when I was in elementary school, so at one point I had a newcomer’s perspective of the area. There are different ways I can go about describing Central Illinois, but for this post I think I’ll split it up into its physical qualities compared to its atmosphere/how it feels to live here.
Central Illinois is flat and empty. I know it’s shocking, but it's true. Did you know that Illinois is actually the second flattest state in America? Somehow, Florida beat us as the number one spot, but that’s besides the point. With so much flat open land, Central Illinois is the dream destination for farmers. Driving around the area, you’ll find oceans of corn and soybean plants growing in huge block fields. If you like corn and/or soy, then you’re in luck; other than the occasional town or forest preserve, that’s all you’ll get. When you do come across a town, it’s usually quite small and simply a collection of some homes, shops, and other everyday properties. I don’t know how to describe it, but with these towns, it sometimes feels like houses were just randomly scattered down from the sky.
Speaking of the sky, Central Illinois has some incredibly beautiful views of the big blue. Because of how flat it is, no matter where you look, you'll probably see a beautiful skyline of some sort. Sunsets and sunrises are especially nice with nothing to obstruct your view. On some evenings with really nice sunsets, you'll look up and see the sky painted a blend of purple, red, and orange. At night, if you find yourself on a quiet road or near the outskirts of town, you'll be able to see the stars dotted above. The sky here seems so vast when there's nothing to obstruct your view of it. Looking up at the sky, Central Illinois suddenly seems so big and wondrous, despite its rather small towns and 'plain' living environment.
Sometimes it feels like the small towns of Central Illinois aren't seemingly built around anything, unlike the less frequent, but bigger towns/cities like Springfield, Bloomington, Champaign, etc. However, this contributes to their charm and I think it perfectly represents the atmosphere that I feel of Central Illinois: a sort of feeling of quiet purpose. No matter how empty Central Illinois is, you’re always surrounded by land that's been worked and cultivated by others. States like Nevada are empty and filled only with its unpopulated rocky desserts. However, in Illinois, even when you’re seemingly in the middle of nowhere, you’re still surrounded by soy and cornfields, which have been grown through the work of the farmers on the land. When I say Central Illinois has a quiet purpose, I mean that despite its seemingly aimless nature, no matter where you look, purposeful work has been done around you.
It’s surprisingly difficult to describe Central Illinois, even if I do live here. In fact, I think it would’ve been much easier for a visitor of Central Illinois to describe it. Despite its emptiness I keep raving about, there's a lot to Central Illinois that I find is hard to articulate into words. I may have left out some details because of this, so I’m curious how you all would describe Central Illinois.
Thanks for reading!
