I've lived in Portland, Oregon since I was 3 years old, so this is my home. And like everyone else who's originally from here, I'm in love with this place. We grew up walking along the tree-lined 23rd avenue, sitting under evergreens in Washington park during the summer, berry picking at Sauvie's, skiing, hiking and eating any kind of food that we wanted. It never felt like many people came here to visit unless it was to see relatives and to see an occasional tour group always seemed out of place in the past. Sometimes I would wonder why more people didn't come here to vacation, as we think this is one of the greatest places in the country, but in a way it felt almost comforting that we got this town to ourselves.

Since I go to college in the Midwest now I don't come home that often, so when I do come back the changes to Portland are a lot more noticeable. But lately I've noticed that there are way more people walking the streets and crowding stores, and it wasn't like this in the past. I've been told that tourism here has suddenly boomed and it's obvious just by going about my day like I used to. Suddenly we have to pay for parking where there were free spaces, and parking prices downtown have become more expensive (if you can even find parking now). Powell's book store used to be quiet but now there are lines where you wait half an hour just to buy a book. My favorite little restaurants are now so busy I had to wait two hours the other day just for a table for my cousin and me. I've been seeing people throw their garbage on the side of hiking trails. And probably what really gets me is the fact that I'll overhear tourists talk about how "weird" we are and how we're like a "human zoo." Excuse me?

Yeah, I know that tourism has economic benefits for cities and I should be happy that people want to visit this beautiful place, but this is our home. In a small way, it feels as though someone came into your house uninvited and ate all your food and did whatever they felt like. And don't get me wrong, I love having people visit me and showing them all my favorite places that I went to growing up, but there's something about having this insane influx of tourists that is changing the way we used to live. It has me missing the days when I wasn't waiting twenty minutes for a cup of tea and wasn't having my picture taken while wearing an "odd" outfit (believe me, it's happened). I guess this might be how people in other popular cities feel about tourists, but of course, that won't stop people from traveling there or here.

If you ever decide to visit Portland for fun, just remember to respect our city. It's cool that you chose to spend your vacation here, but keep in mind how we're still adjusting to becoming more of a destination. Please don't litter (and do recycle if you can), be mindful of where you go, and don't act like we are some human spectacle of weirdos and "hipsters." We're just normal people like you trying to enjoy our evolving city. We love where we're from and we love our unique little gem of a city; it's just hard to see it all change.