We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aaliyah Little. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aaliyah below.

Alright, Aaliyah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have always been an artistic person and I’ve explored art in many in different forms. I used to be very passionate about painting, drawing, and writing, but once I was introduced to photography, I knew it was a craft that I wanted to explore. I started with film photography, (which is my absolute true love) but resources were becoming limited and I struggled with consistency. I began traveling frequently throughout my twenties which led me to discover my love for trying new cuisines and quickly realized I had hundreds of quality photos of food just sitting in my camera roll. In December of 2021, I told myself to just start my Instagram food account and see where it takes me. Since then, I have been documenting my journey with food, travel, and partnering with restaurants as I grow my account to eventually become a full time blogger.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a twenty-six year old young black woman from Chicago, I noticed that most of my friends and family had never even been on a plane or explored cuisines from other cultures. I wanted to change that narrative for myself and also show my community that there is much more to be discovered in this world beyond our city and neighborhood. I wanted to show my peers how simple it could be to open their palate and travel on a budget. I am passionate about being an example of creating your own reality and understanding that nothing is completely out of our reach. I am proud to provide visibility to both my community as well as small businesses and cultures, and I believe that my followers appreciate my integrity, transparency, and consistency. Becoming a food and travel blogger allowed me to merge many of my interests into one central outlet. I am able to photograph, edit, try new foods, experience different parts of the world, cultures, and lifestyles, while still being able to grow as a creative.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The ultimate goal of my journey is to be able to travel the world full time. I’ve always joked that I want to travel so often that I do not even have an apartment lease. This may sound unappealing and overwhelming for most, but it’s the dream for myself. I struggle with staying stagnant in one place for too long because I know how much of the world that I have yet to see and cannot wait to uncover.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I believe non-creatives may struggle to understand how difficult and discouraging it is to be constantly undermined and underpaid by businesses and consumers for our work. Though creatives may make our craft look easy, there is an enormous amount of work that is done behind the scenes that businesses do not take into consideration when determining what would reflect a fair compensation. Our audiences might see a one-minute Instagram reel, but not the commute, the filming, setup, lighting, editing, etc. and as a food blogger, many restaurants will only offer a complimentary meal in exchange. My hope is that in the future, creatives will be compensated fairly for their work that brings businesses thousands of dollars in revenue each year. Creators of color, such as myself, already have to prove themselves to a higher degree than others to even be considered for a paid partnership, so it is extremely disheartening when brands and companies are not willing to pay us what we are worth.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thefoodiebooth