Adventure Awaits… Where You Wouldn’t Have Thought It

The question “what were you doing in Minnesota?” accompanied by a look of confusion is one I’ve gotten a few times since returning to L.A. last week.

In the tone of “why tf would you be there,” and I understand it.

Minnesota wasn’t quite on my short list.

Okay, let’s be honest, the North Star State wasn’t on my list at all. If you put a blank map of the United States in front of me, with only border lines and no words, I wouldn’t have been able to point to Minnesota. Wait, I’m saying wouldn’t have, as if I can now. Let me Google a blank map, try and see.

On a blank map of the United States, which states can you point out and name? Is Minnesota one?

Minnesota… Hm. Okay, I know Ohio because my grandfather lives there (and I once lived there with him); then on the top left corner of Ohio is Michigan (shaped like an oven mitt, is how I remember); then west of Michigan is Lake Michigan; then in the bottom left hand corner of Lake Michigan is Illinois. Chicago is in Illinois and Bria said she took a 6-hour drive up to Chicago… Hm, that messes my guess up because I was about to say it’s the one along the Canadian border that looks like a funny haircut shooting forward, but how can you drive up to Chicago, Illinois if your state is already the highest up (northernmost)? Yeah, see, I’m not sure where it is. Let's see.

map: exploreminnesota.com

Now you see, my guess was right! Ugh, Bria messed me up. It’s like when people in Long Beach tell someone in Los Angeles to come to them in Long Beach and they say, “man drive up here.” Nooooooo, I’m not driving up to Long Beach from Los Angeles, I can’t, it’s a drive down (south) to Long Beach. [growls] I don’t know why that grinds my gears.

Anyway, the point is that I wasn’t sure because if I were sure, it wouldn’t have mattered what anyone said.

Why you should travel to a place you’ve barely ever heard of

1. Everything is new (to you!)

2. It’ll improve your knowledge of geography.

3. You’ll get good quality time.

You’ve never heard of it, duh

That makes it new. New is fresh. New can be exciting. When you’re in a place you’re new to, everything is new to you.

Us millennials are in a generation that’s highly influenced by a wide range of others. We see what people are doing from Leimert Park to College Park. It's fine to gather ideas, try a restaurant you saw on TikTok, or go to a museum you read about on someone’s blog, but it’s also nice to discover something on your own every now and again.

Related: Guide to L.A.

It's okay to travel off the beaten path, to take the trip less traveled. You don’t have to have seen it on Instagram for it to be worthy of a try. Geotags at a location and mentions of a business are great, they really help us a whole bunch, but could an over-dependency on social media suggestions cause us to overlook something we could’ve very well liked? Could needing to see someone else do something first silence our own exploratory instinct?

I know we also want to go where other people are going and take pictures where other people are taking pictures because it’s trending, and that means when we post ours, we’ll get more traffic to our page. Aside from the algorithms, we also like posting stuff we’ve seen because we know it’s more likely others will readily recognize where we are.

Related: 50 Photo-Ops That Say You’re in Los Angeles

And this is fine. Go to the trending spots. Take the pictures that will go viral. (Shoot, I know y’all see my little tail trying, chile.) All I’m saying is don’t let that be all you do; don’t be afraid to try something new.

We Americans suck at geography

Traveling to the continent of Europe and the continent of Africa for my last birthday proved something I was already suspicious of… we aren’t the brightest, culturally.

We know the United States of America, and even then we still don’t know that much. We know our language. And that’s it. In the words of the Washington Post, “half of the world is bilingual. What’s our problem?”

We know a bit of what’s going on directly around us, a huge thanks in part to social media, but not much of what’s going on around the world. During my stay in the Sahara Dessert, a local that had never traveled away from home was able to tell me about the George Floyd situation! Plenty of others that asked me where I was from were familiar with both California and Louisiana (because I’d tell them I’m from Louisiana, but currently live in California).

If I stood on a busy sidewalk in Los Angeles and asked people where Morocco is, I bet you 75% wouldn’t know. Hm, maybe I’ll do that, record it and upload to YouTube for yalls’s entertainment.

It’s so cool knowing about other people and places, and being able to place it on your mental map is a great start.

Even with fellow American citizens, having knowledge of where something is can act as a conversation piece.

“I’m from St. Louis”

“That’s in the midwest, right? I don’t know much about that region, but oh my goodness, I adore Chicago.”

“You’ve been? I spent all my summers as a child in Chicago… I can eat Garrett’s Popcorn every day. Did you try some while you were there?”

“Girl, I did! I mentioned that to somebody else and they said Minneapolis does a better Chicago mix than Chicago, chile!”

“Whaaaaat? Lemme put that on my list for next time I’m back out midwest.”

photo: of @tee.krys taken by blogger Bria Black — at Candyland in Minneapolis, Minnesota with the “chicago mix” popcorn rumored to be better than Chicago’s

“T.K., I ain’t worried ‘bout none of whatchu talkin’ ‘bout.. geography ain’t neva did nothing for me but fulfill a credit I needed to graduate. And ion care ‘bout nobody else culture because I ain’t a people person no way”. Okay, fair enough. I have one more thing for you to consider though.

Is quality time a love language that speaks to you?

I had a girlfriend that realized (and was honest with herself) that she didn’t like the guy she was seeing. She said, “T.K., if we're not sitting courtside at Staples Center for an NBA game, or going for a day of pampering at the Beverly Wilshire, it’s not fun.” She enjoyed the experiences that came with spending time with him; she did not enjoy him.

Now plenty of these gold diggers in LA would hang on, and maybe even bear doing some things they don’t want to do, all to wring the unknowing man for all he’s worth, while she’s knows she has no intentions of ever liking the man how he likes her.. but this is the travel diary, not the aroundLA opinion column, so I digress…

When you visit a place that isn’t “on your list,” outside desires aren’t as much of a driving force during your trip. You don’t just have to, have to, have to get in this club, or get a picture at that location. If you go there, cool. If you don’t, cool. If you get a viral-worthy shot, awesome. If you don’t, it’s okay.

When you’re not pressed on doing this-that-and-the-other, you’re simply enjoying the person with whom you're traveling or have gone to visit. It’s less about the place, and more about the person. As opposed to being about the location or what you’re doing, it’s about who you’re doing it with. Whether a romantic interest or a comrade from back home, you’re getting to know one another better thru authentic quality time.

Bria and I pose with our deep-fried treats at the Minnesota State Fair in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

About the inspiration

This travel diary entry isn’t about how much a trip costs from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, or what food is a must-try at the Minnesota State Fair. It’s not about the trip. It’s what was dropped into my spirit this morning, as a result of this trip.. this trip to visit one of the most beautiful and brightest girls I have the blessing of calling a friend.

We laughed. We talked. We ate pounds of popcorn. We rode rides (and she cried). We smacked on crab legs as we debated on the latest gossip. We had a time well-spent.

Bria Williams Black enjoys sharing personal knowledge about natural hair, marriage and corporate life as a young, Black millennial woman. She is currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Check out her latest upload to YouTube above.

I do hope you’re inspired. Get out there and go somewhere you had no interest in before… Adventure awaits!