For a long time, Baltimore has been a shadowy area that I visit scarcely. In fact, among my friends I was known to throw a fit anytime our meet up location was in Baltimore. I’d look for any excuse to cancel. However, as fate would have it, a French restaurant popped up on my radar(read: Instagram explore page)—in Baltimore of all places. And being so determined to find any bit of Paris anywhere, I ventured out to check it out.
I remember the day quite vividly: I arrived a half an hour before the restaurant was closing, I sat and read a book amid an impending snow storm hitting the city in a few hours. I posted several pictures on my Instagram stories, sharing how excited I was to find Paris in Baltimore. I strolled through the city, stopping by flower shops and then strolling some more. Until that day, I had never walked in the city by myself, but I was so in awe of it. Something was building up inside me, an excitement for what this city could possibly hold. 
I continued to explore since that day. I made new friends along the way and got to know the city even better. A bright new light was rising upon Baltimore, and I quickly became charmed by it all. The best part about exploring Baltimore is that I get to meet it with the curious eyes of a tourist.
The biggest mission of the travel section of my website—and honestly, a huge part of my brand itself—has been to retell the stories of cities. I started with Ghana, sharing the beauty of Africa of which the media speaks so little about.
Baltimore, like Ghana, has had its fair share of bad media. And I do not deny that very horrible problems exist in this city, but I want the world to know it isn’t Baltimore’s only story.
When I lived in France, the first thing people would say when I mentioned Baltimore was “Oh, ‘The Wire’ ” (an HBO series which depicts, among other things, the dark side of Baltimore). Some people also thought the city was completely “ghetto and rough.” No one ever said, “oh my goodness I can’t wait to visit Baltimore! It’s so charming!” No, that was usually reserved for New York City and the pretty valleys in California.
Recognizing that I had garnered a few followers through my website & Instagram who lived in Paris, Ghana and all over the world, I decided to make it my goal to share the beauty of Baltimore with my followers.
Thinking about how it all started: It took one person’s photograph on Instagram to get me to come see Baltimore and to experience it in a whole new light… and I plan to keep passing the love along
I consider it a huge privilege to be able to use positive visual storytelling as a catalyst to change negative perceptions around the world. Now Ghana can see Baltimore in a new light, Paris can see Ghana in a new light and so forth.
