Aside

Dear Portland, who are you?

15 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in my city

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I have been sitting here staring at a blank screen for over 20 minutes trying to decide how to start this blog that I have been thinking about for over half a year. The only thing going through my head right now is, “I’m glad I took that online typing class last term which not only was an easy A that I managed to get a B in, but that I get to type this with ease. No more looking back and forth between the keyboard and the screen.

Although my rant seems completely irrelevant to the theme of this blog, I assure you it is. And there will be a lot more sporadic rants about things slightly irrelevant to this city, but I will get to the point.

I will just start with this, ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of being a writer. I loved to read, and dreamed of writing. I remember writing my first short story. I don’t remember what it was about but I remember finding joy in writing and being absolutely sure that I was born to be a writer. One day one of my brothers found my journal where my short stories, poetry, songs, and a few private thoughts were written and showed the rest of my siblings as they all teased me. That day I ripped up that precious notebook and never wrote again. a year or so later I read a book about a girl that lived in cape cod and loved to take pictures. I decided I will be a photographer when I grow up. That year I got my very own film camera for my birthday. I never pursued photography. I am 22 years old and I still don’t know what ” I want to be when I grow up”. But I know this, from the very first critique of my writing I closed up. I shut down my desires. So I never let myself think that I was supposed to be a writer. In fact, I still don’t. But I don’t care. That fear of what people think of my “work” doesn’t matter anymore. People can read it, or they can not. They don’t have to like it. My point with this rant number 2 is that I fought with myself really hard about starting this blog. I came up with this conclusion; I am not a great writer, but I write. And not everyone will like or care for what I have to say, but I am doing it for me. so…. rant number three… short rant, just a tangent… I started another short story/graphic novel/ whatever it will be. This one is dedicated to 8 year old me who’s dreams were squashed for but a little while. I might post that story on this blog… maybe… someday..

So why am I starting a blog about Portland??

Because I’m in love with it. There are so many things about this city that make it unique. Some of it’s nicknames are bridgetown (because of all the bridges), stumptown (because there were more stumps than trees in the early 1850′s) The main nickname is probably (rose city or city of roses) There is also PDX, P-town, RIP city, and my favorite  ’beervana’ A portmanteau of “beer” and “nirvana,” Portland has more brewpubs per capita than any city in the United States.  .(wikipedia)

Point is, Portland has it’s reputation for being environmentally friendly, green, hippies, hipsters, where young people go to retire, good coffee, good beer, good food, great music scene, and rain. But there is so much more to it. Yes, all those things are true,  but that is just hitting the surface of it all. I will go as far as interviewing strangers about their life stories and how they fit in the story of Portland as a whole. I will share through candid photography of Portlanders in their natural habitat, to photoshoots and stories about individuals, places, and events that Portland has to offer. So from a journalistic point of view, I will dig into the heart of Portland to learn and show through my eyes who I know Portland to be. For who she really is.

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