ecently, I was talking to my friend Don, telling him about querencia.. He said, "Yes, querer - it means the wanting place." He helped me realize that for writers, that burning urge to write is our querencia. In order to feel at home we have to be writing. We feel awful if we haven't written in a week, if we don't write in our journals every day. Writing is a way of finding and keeping our home.

At home, in daylight, I retreat to my study to write, to gather strength, to fill up again. I feel most at home during the day, sitting in my writing chair with my feet up, a cup of coffee or tea on the desk. It's difficult for me to find my querencia and write at night.

When I don't have quiet in my life I sometimes ignore the pull toward that chair: it seems more important to make phone calls and pay bills. But I'm ignoring the voice that will lead me to safety, take me home. My body knows it. I feel cranky and life seems dull. The more I write, the more I have the urge to write, and the closer I come to finding my way home.

Write about where you feel most at home, where your querencia is. Describe it in such clear detail that you feel you're there. Gather photographs and pictures of your querencia and tape them to your wall or carry them with you. Search for your querencia: Keep asking yourself: Where do I come from? Where do I feel most at home? Where do I feel most happy and relaxed? (For writers: What is my ideal writing environment? Where can I write with my full powers?)

Contestants: When you write about your Querencia, tell where you go or what you do to help you feel better after you have felt down or when you were concerned about someone with whom you care a lot. Then, in your article, tell of a specific incident or time you remember being hurt, worried or down because of something going on in your life. In other words, tell in general what you do to make yourself feel better, and also tell of an actual time that something happened and what you did or where you went to make yourself feel strong again, to regain your power.

GOOD LUCK!!! Please submit or mail your entry as soon as possible.