Ideas that Affect the Northwest

Caitlin H.

January 26, 2010 - 3:24 PM

For weeks now, I have left a penciled note in the margins of my planner about the Oregon Quarterly essay contest  deadline coming up. The contest was something I had seen an ad for somewhere along the way, and made a mental note that maybe I should consider submitting an entry. It was a distant inspiration at best. At first I kept telling myself I had plenty more time to think about it, or I just had other more important things to accomplish first. Now I look at my planner and I'm amazed I kept a finger on the contest going on at all. With so much scratched out, highlighted, scribbled in and checked off in my mess of a planner, somehow I never managed to completely forget about this essay on an idea that affects the northwest...whatever that means. Perhaps it's time I give this essay some more thought.

I've been watching my cursor blink on the screen for what feels like hours. I gave it some thought, I just didn't get anywhere.

There is no shortage of topics that affect the northwest. But what to say about them? What would other people say? What would other people care enough to write or read about? Right now the world seems so full of Measure 66 and 67 debate, what date the UO commencement ceremony should be, what the UO football players have been up to, salmon, Oregon jobs, what's going on in Haiti. Depending on how tightly I focus my world around the UO, issues either seem too narrow and trivial for engaging discussion or too broad and banal.

Somehow that led me to blogging about this essay instead of actually writing one. I'm still looking for a topic that matters; something I feel like I could let my heart sing about. I have until Saturday to find 1500 words worth of inspiration.

If there ever was a good forum for discussing issues relating to the Pacific Northwest, I assumed this was as good as any. As I search for my own ideas about what matters here in the northwest, I was hoping others might be willing to leave their thoughts as well. I urge you to participate in the Oregon Quarterly essay contest. It is free to enter and there are open and student categories encouraging participation from a diversity of individuals. This is your chance to share your story about what matters to you in the northwest!