My Phoenix Story: Submit Yours!

24 Feb My Phoenix Story: Submit Yours!

Some time ago, we started a series called My Phoenix Story. This column features members of the Downtown/Central Phoenix community and tells their unique experiences of life in this city. It serves as a snapshot of the community where we live, work and play, providing a firsthand look at what it’s really like to experience Phoenix on a daily basis.

We’ve seen wonderful stories ranging from the transplant who found her passion in advocacy to the Phoenix native who has watched Phoenix reinvent itself before his eyes. But we want to see more. That’s where you come in.

We are now opening a call for submissions to our My Phoenix Story column. We are looking for strong first-person accounts of what brought you to Phoenix, why you stayed, and what Phoenix means to you. Stories should have an emphasis on Phoenix’s good qualities and potential.

We know you love your city. Here’s your chance to tell us why.

Criteria

• Word count is open but we think the sweet spot is 600-800 words. Many have been longer!
• Includes at least one photo of you. More are preferred if it helps tell your story, but are not required.
• Shares your personal story of why you choose to live, work, and/or play in Downtown Phoenix…
• Be divided up into sections for easy reading (see other stories for example)
• Include a short biography of yourself (3-4 sentences)

How to submit

Contact us by clicking the button here, and let us know a little bit about yourself and what you’d like to share.

Not sure how to start? You can check out our previous My PHX Stories here. We’ve also included some of our favorites below:

The Discoverer

When Cole Van Norman moved to Downtown Phoenix from the East Valley the summer before college, he discovered what he describes as a hidden treasure. “Since living downtown I have enjoyed a whole new way of life. I walk and ride my bike, eat and support local businesses, and interact with new and old friends. I found myself in a routine of walking my dog to Hance Park in the mornings, playing catch, and grabbing a drink from Lola’s coffee shop afterwards. I had found my urban paradise in the desert I called home.” Read his story here.

The Advocate

Libby Coyner, an archivist for the State Archives, came to Phoenix for her job but soon found herself at home through bicycle advocacy with the group Phoenix Spokes People. Says Coyner, “A friend of mine…said, ‘some people like to create their own city, and some people like to move to a city that has already been created.’ There is a kind of place-making that I really love about Phoenix – never before have I lived somewhere that had such an amazing community of people enthusiastic to map out their future.” Read her story here.

The World Traveler

Originally from Portland, Kari Scherling traveled all over the world before she settled in Phoenix. In her story, she speaks of the city’s future. “Phoenix is a young city but it has the potential to be a great one. It is unique in its climate that allows for bike riding nearly year round, its low living cost, its Wild Western history of rugged individualists. It has the energy of academia at its core and it has the opportunity for adventure in the mountains and rivers that lie just beyond its borders. With the technologies we have now, Phoenix could be one of the most interesting, progressive cities in the country.” Read her story here.

The Entrepreneur

Phoenix native and local business owner Jonathan Carroll has watched Phoenix transform over the past several years from a “ghost town” to a vibrant, growing city. He writes, “Small business is a main reason why Phoenix is now a great place to meet new and aspiring people, to grasp and learn new concepts and to grow and be a better and productive person.  We’re like Portland’s newborn, yet we’re growing up faster than anyone thought we would.” Read his story here.

The Hometown Girl

Theresa Cano longed for nothing more than to escape her native Phoenix and flee to New York, a city far more glamorous than the one she grew up in. But health and financial issues required her to stay and get a job downtown. Says Cano, “Instead of spewing hatred of Phoenix, I’d get defensive. ‘No, it’s not scary.’ ‘No more than any other downtown.’ ‘There’s stuff to do, you just have to put a little effort into finding it.’ That’s how it began. A tiny crack in my armor of Phoenix-hate turned into full-on pride in my hometown.” Read her story here.