Ever want to find out the true character of your city? Go for a midnight run. You will discover things about that city you’ll never see otherwise. For me, it revealed everything that is great about Milwaukee. I could see  the inherent good, from the often overlooked skyline, to the beauty of the Discovery World lights reflecting off the calm, peaceful water of Lake Michigan, to the incredible architecture of the Art Museum, and finally to the intrinsically beautiful people that call Milwaukee their home.

As a sophomore, I’ve heard the “urban safety” talk plenty of times. Although I understand where the Department of Public Safety is coming from, I feel the safety issue is overstated. I have spent enough time with what some might call the worst Milwaukee has to offer to understand how great they actually are.

So what’s my point? I trust the people of Milwaukee. Whether that trust is misguided or not, I may never know. However, for one midnight run, it was by no means misguided.

As I headed back to my dorm from the library one night, I saw two guys out for a run and thought, “Hmm, that seems like a great idea.” So I got back to my room and began getting ready to go. Finding someone to go with crossed my mind, but I really wanted to get going.

So here I was, a skinny white boy with nerdy glasses, somewhat foolishly going out into the city on my own for a run after dark. I gave just about any stereotype you could think of many opportunities to play out.

My first encounter was with an extremely temperamental ex-floor mate yelling back and forth with his girlfriend. After simply ducking my head and avoiding eye contact, I was in the clear. No harm, no foul, right?

However, my next encounter could have been different. While stopped at a red light, a bigger man on a motorcycle who seemed to be Hispanic said to me, “Hey, you know where Milwaukee Street is?” I, being apparently misinformed about the layout of Milwaukee, told him that Wisconsin and Milwaukee don’t intersect. After running one more block, I saw him again, talking to two black men on the corner of the street with their hats cocked up and to the side. They turned to me and said, “Man, this is Milwaukee right here.”

After looking at the street sign, I turned and apologized. Now, instead of taking the “Damn college kid messing with me” approach and getting mad, you know what they did? They laughed, turned around and went about their business.

What about my other encounters? How about the man who seemed to be shaking in a fit of rage as I ran by? I don’t know. But I do know that when I passed he turned his head, smiled and nodded as if to say, “Have a nice run.” And how about that old homeless man with the long, white, unkept beard? Did he ask for money? Nope. He simply watched me run by, minding his own business and letting me mind my own. IFY

Many things make Milwaukee great. On my midnight run, I realized the people are the greatest of those things. It’s easy to buy into the stereotypes and miss out on experiencing those great people. Sometimes, when you let your guard down, it can pay off in a big way.

Although I admittedly placed myself in a somewhat compromising situation, the people of Milwaukee went about their business, allowing me to do the same. The landmarks I saw during my run reminded me that Milwaukee is a beautiful city, but is not quite as beautiful its people.