Celebrations Galore

So, who all noticed the small bright badge just above the followers list? :D

Yes, yes, my beloved LOL, made it to the 'Directory of top Indian blogs' for the year 2012-13. This is such an awesome feeling that I have no words to express it.

When Meoww posted on Raj cheta's wall that his 'Fuck Love' had made it to the directory of top Indian blogs, I just clicked on the link to check out the other wonderful blogs in the list. Not once did I expect my blog to be in it. I read the page for about half an hour and I scrolled down to the 'S' section. There I saw my name. I couldn't believe it at first. I clicked the link, it re-directed to my blog. And then I screamed! I ran downstairs to inform Cal and my in-laws. Then we all screamed together. In joy. Yeah, we are one crazy family. They understand the pain and effort I put into writing and respect me for it. They all read my posts and thoroughly enjoy it. That was a victory in itself. Next came the blog award. Next, I got published. Next, I made it to the above mentioned list. Wow, life just couldn't get better.

I started writing four years, two months ago. This was my first post. Silly eh? Then started my poetry. The first ever poem I wrote was this. My second post. When I go back and read it, I still feel the same emotion I felt then. The person for whom it was written has changed, but the feelings still remain the same. Love. My USP. That, and honesty. And I'm never ever changing it. Looking back, I see that almost all of my posts have been surrounded by this emotion. Its been four years and it still survives. I must be doing something right then. Right?

Today, I see the way my blog has grown. Why is this relevant you ask? Because I have grown as a person alongside her. Yes, my blog is a female. What else did you expect a Lioness to be anyway :P. I have given birth to her and have nurtured her like a mother. She has been the reason for my survival all these years and she is someone who has taught me the importance of life. However this was not easy. More than me having seen her journey, she has seen mine. From a carefree, confused girl to a spirited, strong woman. From a misanthrope to an extrovert. From a reader to a writer. From a heart broken soul to a happily married woman. Yes, the journey has been awesome. And no regrets ever. Not on the blog, not in my life. And it continues to be the same.

For some, a personal blog might mean different things. For me it means just that. Personal space. This is my life out here and I write exactly what I feel and exactly what I go through. Apart from the fiction and a very few fantasy posts, not one sentence is made up. Not once sentence is a lie. Everything, and I mean every single thing, mentioned here has happened or continues to happen. And that's the reason it finds a mention here. When I decided to start a blog, everything was vague for me. Only one thing remained solid. The title, 'LOL: Life of Leo'. And I wanted to do complete justice to it. If it says it is about my life, then that is what it is. My life. No one else'. And why would I have to make up something like my own life. I might not be completely mentally stable (we all have shades of insanity, don't we?), but I definitely am not schizophrenic. I'm also not the one to live in denial and ignore aspects of my own life. I have written about my past, because it was a part of me. I have accepted it wholly and that's the only reason why I have moved on today. Again, past not only being limited to love life. I could have easily ignored the grey areas and highlighted only the colorful ones. After all its my blog and its up to me as what I want to write. But no. I had a conscience to answer to.

Then came the most obvious debate. Why put out a personal life on the Internet. One answer. 

MY CHOICE. 

Out of a zillion Internet users, the probability of people visiting my blog is less than a minute 0.000001%. Also, I don't expect the entire world to wake up every morning and click on my blog link. After putting up a few posts, I sent out my blog link to a limited number of friends. Then came my first follower, then the second and so on. Slowly, the blog link spread and more people started visiting my blog. Many people could identify themselves with my life and that's exactly what they mentioned in their comments. Not that I was looking for appreciation, but I felt motivated. Slowly, my viewers increased and the follower list went from 10 to 25, 25 to 50, 50 to 100 and then from a 100 to 200. Today with about a 240 odd followers and more than one and a half lakh views, my first baby still stands tall and proud. She is my dream and she is my reality. The only reason why LOL still survives is because the blog remains what it used to be. Honest, simple writing about life. My life.

As much as I was appreciated, I was criticized as well. And I always take responsibility for what I write. Good or bad. Someone termed my blog as monotonous as I only write about love and life. I think you need to understand love before you read about it. Or at least you need to be loved. If that's not the case, obviously you will not like it. What am I to do about it? One guy told me that my blog was too honest. I seriously don't know what he expected from my blog. Lies? Or sugar coated truth maybe. Its a pity I don't know how to implement both. Some people got offended reading what I wrote assuming its them. No, not only the recent spat but I've had other random people calling me to ask why have I written about them. I've had it up till here (holds hand above head) and honestly I couldn't care less. Like they say, assumption is the mother of all fuck ups. Fighting about themselves being mentioned on my blog, means they accept that they are that. Good, acceptance is the key to a good life they say. Suppose tomorrow's headline in Times Of India reads "A girl from Indiranagar, Bangalore is actually a witch." If I call TOI asking them how dare they talk about me like that, what would that make me? Its always nice when people can relate to my writing, half the battle is won right there.

Like they say "Under my roof, under my rules". Precisely. Normally when I start reading a book and don't like it, I close it and push it to the back of my book shelf. Need I say more?

A little sweet, a little salty and a little spicy. This is how my journey of blogging has been. Not to forget the fact that I've made so many awesome and faithful friends here. Some of whom I haven't even met in person or even spoken to. Yet, we understand and support each other. No other means of social media has ever given me that. I'm overwhelmed by the support I've got on my recent posts. It feels so nice to know that I have the right people backing me up. Writing is survival, I've said it before. Nothing else gives me more satisfaction than opening a blank page and typing out my thoughts into it. Every other pleasure falls flat in front of it. Believe me. The appreciation and followers that come with it is the cherry on the cake, but not the base. The base was, shall and will always remain me and my life.

Oh man, this post got really long. Didn't it? Couldn't help, the nostalgia kept pouring out. I'm really proud of myself and I'm not going to make any attempt to hide it.

Here's to many more accolades. Cheers people, thank you for making the journey worthwhile.

~ Soumya