Expression of Love for Minneapolis

By Devna Panda


Dear Minneapolis, 

In many ways, you chose me more than I chose you. Though I’m reluctant to admit it now, I was dreading spending my formative years in your clubs and cafes, feeling that whatever you had to offer was somewhat limited in comparison to other metropolitan cities. Yet, once my decision had become clear, I realized just how deeply I had underestimated you. 

Nearly a year and a half ago now, I began experiencing my first taste of independence on your streets; that is a kindness I will never forget. Within the University neighborhood especially, nearly each and every corner is characterized by a particular air, the distinctive emotion of what I was experiencing, or the songs I was listening to when I frequented that area. Writing in the Arts district or walking to classes in the mall in sub-zero temperatures during my Brent Faiyaz phase.  

Funnily enough, just as you are to slip through my fingers, I have come to appreciate you more. See, I am currently on the precipice of studying abroad. Since the academic calendar at the university in Hungary differs from that of the academic calendar here, I do not leave until mid-February. As a result, I have had about a month between the beginning of the UMN semester and my departure for Budapest. 

Now, you know how much I hate driving over from the first-ring suburb I grew up in, so it should come as no surprise that I’ve become something of a public transport aficionado. That’s to say I’ve been using the Southwest Transit bus system to come and visit. And on these bus rides, I have discovered just how little I know of you. I have just barely begun to probe the multitudes you contain. It is a strange revelation considering I feel such a deep wealth of emotion for you; after all, you are shaping me into the person I am becoming. I have spent my entire life near you, but only now do I recognize how much we have yet to acquaint ourselves with each other. You remain an amorphous, vast expanse of virtually uncharted territory. I am unfamiliar with your street names or eclectic restaurants, all of the lovely individual details that comprise you. Until last week, the fact that Dancing Ganesha, a restaurant my family has frequented often, lies only 528 feet away from the intersection of South 12th Street and Harmon Place was unbeknownst to me.

 Though this realization of how desperately I want to get to know you on a more profound level is coming at a somewhat-inopportune time, I plan to pick up right where I left off when I return. As I embark on this adventure, I am confident the nook you have carved for yourself in my heart can not be usurped by another city. To misquote Her,” whatever someone I become, wherever in the world I end up, I’ll always love you because we have grown up together. 

Yours always,

D

Wake Mag