Welcome to find out how the Outlandish Blog got its name!
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It was Summer 2011. I had just returned to Finland from visiting my friends and old hoods in Aberdeen in Scotland. While there, I had received the call I had been waiting for for my entire life (OK, the last 10 of the 20 years that I had gained by then):
Mum: ”There’s a letter here for you from the Finland Trade Center in London. Do you want me to open it?”
Me: ”Yes, but if it’s bad news, perhaps don’t tell me what it says…”
*shuffling noices, phone laid on a table, an envelope being torn open…. silence*
Me: ”Well????”
Mum: It says ’Congratulations, you have been accepted’…”
* INSERT THE LOUDEST SCREAM YOU’VE EVER HEARD HERE!!! *
The entire day that I had sat in the Robert Gordon University library perfecting that ONE internship application to London had paid off! Out of 800 applicants I GOT THE JOB!
The Adventure Begins
Moving to London had been my biggest dream for ages! And a Summer spent in Brighton when I was 15 made this dream a full-on obsession. So, being accepted for an internship in a well-known Finnish consulting agency in London was better than anything I could ever have dreamed of.
While studying in Scotland I had come across a new online phenomena; blogs. And that was right up my alley! I love writing but I’ve never had any aspiration to write an entire book. Just individual articles on how I view the world and everything that happens to me. Because a lot happens! And a blog was the perfect platform for documenting all that!
I also thought it would be the easiest way to relay everything about my new life in London to multiple people at once. Seeing a picture of the tube or our office in Hammersmith is a completely different affair than me describing them on the phone.
When thinking about a name for the blog I first thought of it as my diary of London. So, my first idea for a name was Londoner. Until it turned out that the name/URL had already been taken. But one thing was sure; I had to have London in the name of my blog. In the end I settled for Living London.
It worked perfectly. As long as I was in London. But I was there for only 6 months and even though I moved back to Finland, I still wanted to keep writing. But the new chapter in my life as an unemployed graduate was too miserable to blog about. So I forgot about the one thing that I had finally discovered as my passion: blogging.
New Beginnings
And then life happened again! An unexpected turn in events found me packing up my life: I was moving abroad once more. To Slovakia! ♥ Where was that? I had no idea but I was relieved, happy, pretty close to ecstatic about the fact that I was going!
I was especially excited about the fact that my life was going to be interesting again! New things in life equals things worth writing about. And new, unfamiliar hoods are totally worth photographing. So, I gave my blog a second chance!
But the name had to be changed. ’Living London’ didn’t really work with the new chapter in my life. But I didn’t want to erase my London diary either, so it was time to set up a whole new blog.
How I approached naming the blog
How did Outlandish Blog gain its final name? Well, it was a process!
First I wanted to keep things simple and name the blog after my own name… But my last name is so rare that I didn’t want to put it out there. Plus it’s so complicated that I can barely spell it, so nobody would ever find my blog. And Teresa Maria is quite a popular name worldwide so every formation of that name was already taken.
So, I had to move beyond just a name and started thinking about bigger questions:
- Who am I?
- What am I?
- How am I?
I started by considering how my friends might describe me. You can ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you what I am NOT and that is your stereotypical Finn:
- I am loud, unapologetic and confident.
- And I am NOT ashamed, unsocial or interested in anyone’s opinion of me.
And then I remembered a questionnaire we had to fill up in upper primary school that was given to students all over Europe. One of the questions was “Do you identify yourself as A) from your home town, B) Finnish, C) European or D) a world citizen?”
I stopped to think about this and realized that I had never really felt Finnish at all. In one word I’m quite outlandish. (Btw, I answered “European” to that question in the end and I am 100% sure that I was the only one in my school to do that.)
Going deeper – Is this me?
The official definition of ‘outlandish’ is as follows:
- Conspicuously unconventional; bizarre. synonym: strange.
- Located far from civilized areas; remote.
- Of foreign origin; not native.
That pretty much sums up who I am!
It describes how I felt a lot of the time growing up in Finland with an Italian temperament. I had no filter for what came out of my mouth (still don’t) in a country where you’re expected to be humble, ashamed of existing, embarrassed about pretty much everything. And don’t you dare be happy or stand out from the crowd! …None of that is my vibe at all.
In addition to my personality this particular word indicates that I am abroad, remote, somewhere where I am not native. And to top it all off, the life that I have led abroad has been true to the name! I bump into weird people and situations all the time. So, what could have been a better name for my new blog?
Cue, the Outlandish Blog!
Yes, I’m aware that my European Millennial readers perhaps remember a certain Danish musical group of a similar name. But they are so long gone, and probably never returning, that I thought I could get away with it. And it turns out I have!
The original Outlandish blog saw daylight in May 2014 and was active until 2018 when I moved abroad again. After moving to Tallinn the initial blog encountered some quiet seasons in the Autumn and Winter 2016-2017. Until I found my passion for writing again and established my first ever website. THIS website.
And here we are now! Leading a life I never expected to lead with still more surprises in store, I’m sure. Stick around and you’ll soon understand how well the glove fits. Welcome to the ride! ♥
