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Nathan
BY BIANCA BUTLER
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
bout three months ago, Nathan had a
cancer scare.
A
. “I found a lump,” he said. “And
I just thought, what the hell, I’m
gonna go try to live a little.”
That attitude is what brought
him from the East Coast to
Portland, when he decided to live
out his teenage dream of moving
to the Northwest. When Nathan
was younger, he found sanctuary
in his Nirvana CDs.
“Their music got through to me
in a way that was more real to me
than anything else in my life,
including the people.”
The memory of that connection
has stayed with him. Now,
he’s working on finding
his own place in
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Sheeptoast
the Northwest scene.
Since moving, Nathan has been deemed
cancer-free, but he’s no less dedicated to
living a fuller life. Back in Memphis, where
he was living last year, and in Annapolis
before that, Nathan struggled with a lack of
inspiration and a feeling of being trapped.
Paying for his apartment left him with no
extra money, and the only jobs he could
find were tedious,
including aerating
bananas in
Walmart’s produce
department. Here,
he’s been enjoying
the freedom of
spending time in
the outside world,
writing in coffee
shops and, now,
selling Street
Roots.
Nathan’s passion
is writing, and in
Portland, he’s
Street Roots • June 16-22, 2017
found new creative energy.
“I’m so excited about it, because when I
was in Memphis and not really leaving my
house, I wasn’t getting anything done,” he
said. “I wasn’t writing. I couldn’t focus on
reading. It made me really sad because my
liveliness was gone. Now that my liveliness
is back, I’m embracing it.” Sometimes, of
course, that isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Nathan has schizoaffective disorder, and
some days, he said, “I have to accept that I
just have to decompress, just be alone and
think to myself about things.”
For those times, Nathan looks to mindful
meditation. Giving himself space to think
and acknowledge his thoughts without
trying to control them can help get his
mind back on track to keep working on
writing his life story.
Aside from writing, Nathan is focused on
trying to find community. One difference
he’s noticed between Annapolis and
Portland is the availability of mental health
services. In Annapolis, it was easier to find
support groups where he could go to talk
and socialize. In Portland, he’s looking to
creative writing groups to help fill in that
gap. He’s started attending Street Roots’
weekly writing workshop and is looking for
more groups to join where he can share
his thoughts and work.
Overall, Nathan is feeling good
about his prospects in Portland. As
anyone who’s moved far away
from home knows, there are
good days and bad, but
Nathan says: “I’m just in a
new place, trying to adapt
and trying to live my
by Elizabeth Considine