By Cory Elia
A decade ago, I was living homeless in a tent off the Springwater bike trail in the SE Portland neighborhood of Lents and dealing with unaddressed childhood traumas manifesting themselves as a drug addiction.
As a result, I had repeated run-ins with law enforcement but decided at one point that I no longer wished to live that life anymore. I wanted more for myself, and I refused to accept my fate of death by overdose or prison for some stupid shit I did or was blamed for.
At this point, nearly all my friends and family relationships had been obliterated due to my years of living in my constant state of mental anguish and addiction. I hurt so many around me and have spent years working to repair and repent for my actions in that time of my life.
I decided I wanted to know more about the world; politics, science, philosophy, history (the real stuff, not the white-washed version), and so much more that I rejected as being a frivolous pursuit and pointless waste of one’s personal time.
However, it was reconnecting with friends and family and pursuing an education, which gave me the confidence enough to address my trauma and find my true self. Unfortunately, the discovery of one’s true self is variable on the individual, and for some, it can be a lifelong struggle.
I started my career as a journalist at Portland State University’s newspaper The Vanguard and the monthly magazine The Pacific Sentinel focusing on topics such as homelessness, politics, protests, and other situations local to the Portland area in 2017.
The more I reported on and researched what was happening with Portland, the US, and the world at large, the more impassioned I became.
The more I researched, the more I started to realize the massive amount of mis and disinformation being spread online about nearly any situation in American culture. Soon, figuring out the facts from the bullshit became a major aspect of my reporting and work.
When the murder of George Floyd and subsequently the nationwide protests of 2020 took place in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic I knew my job was to document what was occurring to the best of my ability.
I completed my Bachelors of Science in Arts and Letters with a double minor of Creative Writing Nonfiction and Mass Communications from Portland State University in 2021.
While that’s quite the mouthful, it basically boils down to myself, possessing a robust understanding of the written word. I was proud of myself for turning my life around but decided I was not done and enrolled at University of Oregon’s Portland campus for the Master’s in Multimedia Journalism program focusing predominantly on documentary filmmaking.
I can potentially never fully express my gratitude and appreciation to my friends, family, and teachers for helping me find myself. I’ve personally been dealing with a significant amount of PTSD issues related to the protests of 2020 and how many times I was assaulted by police for DOING MY JOB.
The inevitability behind the PTSD was me removing myself from field reporting and as a result, I’ve been pouring myself into my school work and channeling my passions there. That has manifested itself in my graduation being with honors.
Above all else, I just want to express my love and gratitude for my mother. She has been my biggest cheerleader in getting sober and pursuing my education. She has repeatedly helped me find my way in my journalistic career. I strive every day to make her proud.
This is why I’m not done with my education. I wish to pursue a PhD. in Journalism. I’m currently looking at several programs around the country, and if accepted into one, it almost guarantees my need to move away from Portland.
This would be a massive transition for me. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. I remember when Portland was “cool” because of its dark and gritty nature. I remember when gentrification slowly crept in and created “new Portland” which priced out so many low income individuals into the outskirts of Portland and changed its cultural dynamics drastically resulting in something barely recognizable from the Portland of my childhood.
This is why I am also going to be focusing my documentary film lens on Portland and what is happening with it currently as it is emerging from the economic and social devastation the pandemic brought upon it in a documentary series I am entitling ‘Is Portland Dying?’ and I should have the first episode finished and released in a couple of months.
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