IMPERFECTLY PERFECT // Lulu Brud

I am so honored to include Lulu Brud in our Imperfectly Perfect series. I've followed Lulu online for quite a while, and it wasn't until connecting the dots in person a few months ago that I became intrigued and inspired by her campaign @voteyourchange. She is proactively using her voice to make a difference, and generate meaningful content. Something we can all aspire to.

Known personally online as @ladyluofthewolves, Lulu quite literally epitomizes what this blog means to us. Perfection is not that interesting - and yet we are constantly bombarded by it. Even the most self actualized of us can be fooled and tempted into comparing ourselves to others. After going through a very personal moment publicly - she's shown that these platforms can be used to connect people that otherwise feel alone.

Real people, real stories, real lives, real connection and real healing can all be found in this crazy social media web if you stay open.

I'm so excited to share her interview below! Thank you! 

3 word bio.

Bios induce anxiety.

What is your one physical characteristic that you’ve had to grow to love, but at times would have changed?

When I was a kid I thought my teeth were huge, fortunately my face finally grew into them and I've grown to love them.

What would your husband, spouse, kids, or any roommates you’ve ever had say is your least appealing quality?

Oooo. I can be controlling. I blame my Scorpio nature.

You are 30ish weeks pregnant. What are you most excited about with becoming a new mother? And most nervous about?

I think that my excitement and nervousness are different sides of the same coin. I was never someone who'd imagined raising a little boy. Our first baby was a little girl, and my husband and I both grew up with sisters, so when we found out we were having a little dude, it took a moment to get used to. But we are counting down the days until we get to meet him! I think my nerves in raising a little boy are tied to what I see as the epic responsibility of that work. We need good men in this world... ones who are conscious, kind, compassionate and empathetic. I feel the weight of the responsibility of raising a good one.

I find it so admirable that you experienced pregnancy loss publicly. With Instagram feeds full of the 'perfect' process, I found your story to be touching, refreshing, and without having met you prior - I felt connected to you. No doubt you helped so many women feel like they aren't alone. Can you say a little bit about going through something so personal publicly?

When everything happened, I remember feeling like "Okay Lulu. You have two choices here. You can disappear forever off of social media and never have to answer the questions about where your baby went. Or you can choose to share your story, honoring your daughter's life and your story." I have always felt like there's so much power in vulnerability and sharing from that place. It gives people the space to say, "Me too." "I thought I was the only one." In choosing to go public with our loss, I experienced comfort from strangers all over the world who took the time to reach out to me to say, "I have been where you've been. I survived this pain and you will too." It's like this secret club that has millions of members. It's a club that no one knows about until they get inducted, and no one wants to be a member. I was introduced to friends of friends of friends and consoled on walks, over email and through text messages. If I thought I was the only one that had been through loss at 7 months, I don't think I would have made it through. I will always be so grateful for the generosity and tender care from strangers I "met" through sharing our loss publicly.

With so much opportunity for women these days there is also an incredible new amount of responsibility. What do you think is the most challenging part about being a woman right now?

I think that traditionally men and womxn handle power differently and I for one am excited to see what a world run by womxn looks like! What does it look like for example for a womxn to have power and not adopt the qualities historically associated with men in power, but rather do it completely differently: to make space for others, to lift others up, to make space for the disenfranchised and the silenced, to protect and defend the people and the places of earth that need it most.

We're so inspired by your campaign Vote Your Change. Can you give us a brief behind the impetus of starting this crusade?

Photographer Morgan Pansing and I met at our dear friend’s baby shower in 2018 and it became immediately clear that we wanted to work on something together, but we just hadn’t figured out the “what” yet. As the midterms started creeping closer, the Kavanaugh hearings were exploding, and the rhetoric and actions of this administration continued to slip into the danger zone, I think we were both just feeling rage and helplessness to make it stop. So, we did what we knew how to do, we used our art to try and rally change. We aligned with Gabrielle Weissman who designs all of the incredible signage and poster art and we called on other women who were just as frustrated with this administration. Our goal with Vote Your Change was to create a photo project, entirely centered around womxn, and those who identify as such, to remind people of the importance of getting to the polls, that our voices matter and that they need to be heard. I’m looking forward to seeing the shape it takes on as we head to the polls in 2020!

You have a large following. How do you balance your relationship with social media?

I think it is a balancing act to be sure. One that I don't think I do well all of the time. For me, it's about finding the balance point of sharing and oversharing. Some things are private and that's okay. I also feel like lately, if I am not feeling inspired to share something I'm not going to just to post something to keep the algorithm monster happy.

With 30 minutes of free time, what would you do?

These days, napping is my favorite thing.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

I would love to see a world that didn't have to contend with automatic rifle toting, science suppressing, white supremacists. I mean I suppose that's more than one thing, so I guess I should just say... MORE HUMANITY PLEASE.

A few unread emails or 1000’s?

I keep my inbox at zero, but that doesn't mean I respond to everything in a timely manner ha!

Honestly, packrat or minimalist?

In my next life, I want to be a minimalist. But in this life, unfortunately I lean more packrat.

What keeps you up at night?

Literally, the pains in my back and ribs. Figuratively, the state of the world to which I'm about to introduce my son.