Becoming “Lulu”: My Love/Hate relationship with the Blogosphere

Our imposed blog regime is over, as our class assignment comes to an end and we submit our finished portfolio. As one friend asked me, “What happens now? Is that it?”, I realised this could well be the end of ‘Lulu in London’.

When I was first told I would have to keep a regular blog by our tutor, I remember being disgusted and cynical in equal doses. I could not seriously believe that anyone could possibly want to read about my dull little life, or, even more ridiculous, that blogging was actually crucial to my future as a wannabe journalist. Writing those first few words was nerve-wracking, as I opened my innermost thoughts up to ridicule by the masses.

However, looking back over my blogs I realise just how far ‘Lulu’ has come over the last few months, from my first post as a terrified, disorientated northern girl standing on a tube platform without the first idea of how she was going to survive in London.

The famous fur coat. Photograph courtesy of Anushka Kotwani.

Since then I have blogged about almost everything- from fashion, to international development, to dating. Perhaps the first big step in finding my voice was blagging my way into the US Embassy, where I interviewed the press attache about the terror alerts gripping London at the time (until I got busted). Suddenly I wasn’t just writing as ‘Lulu’: I was Lulu, a confident and outspoken young journalist (at least, on the outside).

I realised the power of the blog when I was contacted by Uniqlo themselves after posting a (what I considered ridiculous) post about my new coat from there. “Loved the blog- post a photo” it simply read, and I rocketed to ‘Fan of the Week’ on their Facebook group. The coat has become the staple of my journalistic wardrobe- my “power coat” of sorts.

As I have found my voice through ‘Lulu’, simultaneously I have found myself in London. Whilst causing controversy (and a dedicated hate forum) with my blog about World Zombie Day, and gradually realising that my readership stretches beyond my mum and grandma, I have made friends, met ‘Mr Right’ and got over the homesickness that plagued the first few weeks of my time down here.

As a result of my blog on my all-time heroine Jenny Kleeman (Unreported World), I got to meet the woman herself as she agreed to come and talk to my university class. The passion with which

Jenny Kleeman- courtesy of Unreported World

she spoke about her work merely re-inspired me to work doubly hard towards my ambitions of becoming a reporter in the developing world.

‘Lulu’ has provided me with a motivation- with a focus- for me to research and write about things I read, or see, or want to know more about. I suppose blogging has provided me with a place to rant, and to express the weird little things that I want to share with the world.

And in reading my coursemate’s blogs, I feel I have come to know a little better the twenty strangers who started off on the course together in September. Blogging is a peculiarly intimate medium, despite being accessible to billions worldwide. Some people chose to blog about their families; others about dating, developments in medicine, or human rights issues. Whatever people chose to write about offered the world a better perspective on themselves, as they developed their own blogging voice.

So my advice to all those out there, hovering over the keyboard willing themselves to start a blog- do it. But do it for yourself. If you get readers, all the better. But reading back on ‘Lulu in London’ and her experiences over the last few months makes me realise that writing a blog was very much a personal journey for me, and one that I look back on with pleasure.

And the final question- is this the end of Lulu in London?

I don’t think so. I’m not quite ready to let her go- not yet.