In the last 4 odd years, basically since I joined the workforce, I have been traveling a lot. Whether for work, or for pleasure, I’ve had the privilege to go to many great cities across the US and abroad. I have enjoyed new cuisines, new cultures, and most importantly, new people. Throughout all my travels, the interactions with locals of any given city are as unique and cherished as you would expect…except for one back-and-forth that always seems to pop up in conversation whenever I leave my home state of Michigan. Ahem, alright, let me try my best to set the scene:

[Scene: At a bar during happy hour in X city]

Local: “Haha, yea X city is awesome. So where did you say you were from again?

Me: “Yea, I’ve really been enjoying myself here. I’m from Michigan!”

Local: “Oh really? Oh man, Detroit is rough right?”

Me: “Actually Detroit’s pretty great, but it has problems like most cities.  I have a lot of my friends that live…”

Local: “OH you must have seen some stuff, huh? And that situation in Flint – just terrible.

Me: “Yea, that is a terrible situation that hasn’t even been properly dealt with yet. You know…”

Local: “Ha, I bet you love it here compared to Michigan.”

…

The “…” represents me trying to convince whomever I’m with that I actually and genuinely do in fact love the state of Michigan.

This is a trend I’ve noticed more times than I can count in my adult life. When I tell people that I’m from Michigan, it is like I’ve put myself in a boxing ring against an opponent several weight classes above me. I’m constantly dodging assertions about the dangers of Detroit, I’m weaving in-and-out of jabs about the dying and corrupt automotive industry, I’m ducking underneath assumptions made about the school system or the uneducated electorate. And if that wasn’t enough, the powerhouse right hook comes through in the assumption that I must hate where I’m from because it’s Michigan, and anywhere is better than there.

And this pisses me off. Don’t get me wrong – there is plenty to improve about Michigan. Just like every other state in this country, there are a large number legislative, economic, racial, and cultural issues that plague the state. However, I feel like those issues have been the primary narrative told to people outside of the state and they are missing out on so much of what this state is.

For whatever reason, Michigan is a hard sell, but I’m here to make the pitch. Throughout this site will be some of the best that MI has to offer. This is the state that educated me, provided opportunities for my family, and in the future will be the place I get married (more to come on that in the future). As for today, enjoy some Michigan pictures from all the seasons.