The querencia was especially difficult for me to write, given that it had to be a place. A place where I am completely comfortable, rejuvenated... a place where I don't need to worry. It's hard to imagine such a place for me. I mean, I know of places where I tend to feel at ease, or places that feel absolutely beautiful and magical, but are they my querencia? I ended up writing about a specific forest of my childhood because it encompasses such joy and beauty in my memory. But there are other places where I receive the same 'nourishment', and they're not very specific. Simply being outside at night, walking down the quiet streets with surrounding fog or swimming in a lake or ocean provide the same sense of being for me. So I wonder, do we really have a place that works as our querencia?
A friend of mine who is also taking AP college english was assigned this project by another teacher, but their querencia was not limited to a place. It could be a sense of being, thoughts, or even another person. I realize that writing about abstract thoughts and claiming that one's querencia is in the presence of another individual could be more difficult to write about, but this is the type of querencia that I believe applies to me.
I agree. My ideal querencia too is built with abstract thoughts. In fact, I think that querencias which are not subjected to reality can actually be more comforting.
Posted by: Jingyi L. | 03/21/2010 at 08:44 PM
For my case, I disagree. I thought that it was pretty simple to figure out a place that I feel abnormally comfortable in. And in case you were wondering, I DID go to my neighbor's house after school today for like half an hour
Posted by: Jeffrey H. | 03/22/2010 at 05:11 PM