First Black Woman to Travel to All Countries 🌍
Do you see this #blackgirlmagic right here? ✨
Her name is Jessica Nabongo, her brand is called Catch Me If You Can, and she has just completed her quest to be the first documented black woman to travel to every country in the world.
Like, planet Earth. 🌍 All 195 of the United Nations-recognized countries.
Self-funded.
I met her a few months ago on her birthday, and I’m so glad I did. She has blessed me with inspiration in the form of how her mind works, as well as her courage, intrepidness, commitment to her goal, and her generous nature.
I follow her on Instagram (@thecatchmeifyoucan), and that’s where I first learned of the opportunity to meet her. Back in May, she celebrated her 35th birthday in her hometown of Detroit with several events to which the general public was invited.
Her events included a gallery exhibit showing her 35 favorite photographs that she’s taken around the world, a panel discussion, a party, and a brunch, plus plenty of time to mingle and get to know other attendees.
When she announced the events on her Instagram page, I originally thought, “that sounds cool, but I’m not all that interested in going to Detroit.”
I soon changed my mind, having become curious about the city after hearing my coworker talk about it (it’s her hometown, too), and recognized that this was a beautiful chance to meet a woman who inspired me so much.
See, it’s not just that she travels. I also connect with her personhood, if that makes sense. She has traveled the world with a lot of heart, not just endeavoring to use the people and the cultures she’s visited for photo opps. From China to Chile, Bhutan to Benin, Namibia to North Korea, she’s literally been everywhere, and her vibe is rooted in the message of inclusivity, authenticity, and positivity.
But it’s more than that. She manifests things in her life, and she lives with intention. Those are two things that personally really resonate with me. I’ll tell you why later.
So, I hopped on a plane bound for Detroit! It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I’ve got to say, the city charmed the hell out of me. Her hometown, which I never thought of going to, is really quite cool. It’s got a lot of history and is undergoing a renaissance lately, a bit of a revitalization.
You’ll notice that the pictures in this post are from the gallery event, rather than much from the rest of the weekend; to be honest, I was having too much fun at the events to remember to take photos that are fit to share.
Seeing her work printed and large was fantastic. I love printed photography, and can’t wait to have a dream home which I can fill with art. Some of her pictures are haunting, draw you in, and stir up strong feelings.
Mingling in the gallery afforded the opportunity to meet some cool people in her life: family, lifelong friends, other supporters like me. For instance, I met one guy named Elton Anderson who just launched a travel show called Lens of Culture on Cleo TV! I grew up watching the Travel Channel thinking how cool it would be to host a travel show. And he’s doing it. 💯
We are all as strong as our community, and as is evident in the multi-day celebration she had in the Seychelles when she arrived at country 195, her community was a major support system in completing this extraordinary quest.
I stood out a little because I was completely unknown, lol; I literally came because of an Instagram post. But everyone made me feel so incredibly welcome.
And actually, when I first met Jessica at the gallery, she was like, “you came from Atlanta just for this?” I was like “yep,” and her appreciation shone through her eyes and smile.
One of my favorite parts of the trip came after the gallery hour, when the crowd sat down in an adjoining room to watch a panel in which Jessica’s best friend asked her questions about her journey, her favorite moments, and things that she has learned along the way.
It was being filmed (so hopefully there’s a documentary coming!), and I sat in the front row. There was one part of the conversation in particular that I cherish to this day, because it connected with a personal philosophy of mine.
(Tl;dr: I try my best to live my life with intention, and I love meeting people who do the same.)
One of the questions Jessica’s friend asked her was what is her message; asked her if she’s doing this global journey in order to urge other people to do it, as well. Jessica’s answer was that while she endeavors to encourage anyone that wants to travel to find a way to do so, her actual message is to know your why in life.
Rather than implicitly encourage anyone to make her quest their own, or quit their job, or whatever, her thing is that, whatever you are doing in your life, just know why you’re doing it.
Sounds simple, right? But getting to know your why is among the most rattling and liberating work you can do. ❤
A couple of weeks prior to me going to Detroit, I remember an Instagram story she did when she shared that many people message her to ask “how do you do what you do” and say “I wish I could do what you do.” She responded that you can.
There may be a lot of things in life that you can’t control, but that shouldn’t make you forget the things that are within your control. So it’s important every now and then to reflect upon the parts of your life that you may have chosen or resigned yourself to. If you want something, think about what you can do to actively choose the thing you want and make it reality.
To expand upon that a bit, I’ll add my own thoughts on the matter, which are that life is filled with circumstances, and over time I’ve discovered that many of these circumstances can be tweaked by doing some deep thinking, being creative, making decisions, finding helpful people, and creating a plan.
To some extent, most things in our lives are there because we’ve chosen them, or chosen to keep them there. The job, the relationship, the apartment… many are things that can be tweaked, changed, or eliminated if they’re no longer serving what you actually want.
Some circumstances seem unmovable… but are actually more movable than you may have thought.
In my own experience, it was pivotal for me to realize my own agency in my life, and recognize that a lot of things that I felt locked into were not actually absolutes.
In my opinion, the key is in creating micro-shifts.
By getting creative, making decisions, and making a plan, you can create micro-shifts in your life that can result in more wiggle-room after a few weeks, months, or a year. This will allow you to find room where you previously didn’t see it.
In this wiggle-room, you can start doing things that you want to do, rather than things you feel you have to do. To me, this is how you can start living with intention.
With this newfound wiggle-room, you might want to learn a skill like coding, or cooking, or wood-working... you might dedicate yourself to a cause you’re passionate about… or you may find a way to travel the world. 🌍
I invite you to tell me what you think about this in the comments, because I recognize that this kind of thinking may not be for everyone — and may even be offensive, especially if it seems like a “challenge” to a way of life people hold dear.
But the truth is that, yes, sometimes we really are locked into circumstances in our lives. However, there are many cases where it only seems that way. Sometimes we’re not locked in at all; we’ve just gotten used to being held back by things, and living on the sidelines.
OK, I’m getting off my soapbox.
Anywho, this just might be the wordiest blog post I’ve ever written, and you know what? I fully embrace that this post is just me stanning for Jessica Nabongo. I accept it; I lean into the fan-girling. I fan-girled to her face, and have fan-girled on her Instagram ever since. She’s been an absolute dear to me, and I’m so glad that she’s reached her goal.
And if I’m honest, I endeavor to be as amazing as she thinks I am. ♥