Why the Pacific Northwest Will Always Be Home

Korrin B.

April 3, 2011 - 9:00 PM

I want to travel the world. I want to see it all and meet everyone I can. The few places I have traveled so far I have completely loved, each in their own unique way. I love the sheer fabulousness of New York. I love the deep spirituality and culture of Israel. I love the food, the adventure, and the lifestyle of Greece. I love the slow countryside and warm hospitality of the South. Most importantly, everywhere I have gone, I have loved the people I have met.

All this being said, the Pacific Northwest will always be home. It will always be the one place my heart longs to be more than anything. Every now and then I become acutely aware of this fact. This weekend, Eugene's first Saturday Market of the season made me reflect on how much I love this region.

I used to think that I didn't have culture in the way the places I traveled to did. However, I have learned just how untrue this is. Walking around the Saturday Market, I just felt like I belonged and I knew that it was because I shared a culture with this community. Sometimes I like to joke about the intensity with which people in the Pacific Northwest hold some things to be true. They recycle so much that when you do need to throw something away, you have to analyze about fifty different sorting barrels only to find out that none of them are for trash. Pacific Northwesterners can their own foods and ferment their own kombucha because it's just more mellow that way. Everyone has some sort of crafting hobby and organic soy chai lattes can be found just about anywhere. It's absurd and yet, I love it. I am it. I wear knit caps and sauté organic veggies. I meditate and go to yoga classes. I discuss liberal policy initiatives and hug trees. I love this quirky, liberal oasis. I fit in here.

Even the weather at the Saturday Market made me fall deeper in love with my region. One moment it was lightly raining and then next it was a beautiful day of blue sky and sunshine. And, everyone liked to comment on it. "Oh, that's Oregon for you!"

There is just something peaceful about this part of the world. It has a natural beauty that finds its way into your very soul. I want to live many places, but this will always be home. Someday, I'll plant my feet in its rich soil. Until then, I will carry it with me in my heart to the many distant lands I travel.