What would you do if you lost your job and ended up homeless with nothing much else apart from your laptop to keep you going?
Most people would probably sell the laptop for a few dollars the moment things got tough but not 24 year old Brianna Karp from California, she used hers to blog her way back normality.
Karp lost her job in July 2008 and at first survived on wages from the odd temp job and unemployment benefit but like a lot of people who take a drop in income, things start to slip.
Eventually she couldn’t pay her rent and lost her home. Now most of us would maybe turn to family for help but she hadn’t seen her mother since she was 18 and her father who she barely knew had recently committed suicide.
Karp saw her only hope as the trailer she had inherited from her father and took up residence in a Walmart parking lot in Los Angeles.
She decided to write about her experiences in a blog, the Girl’s Guide to Homelessness and spent hours in coffee shops feeding off the free Wi-Fi.
“I was trying to stay positive and cheerful,” Karp said. “I started writing the blog in a tongue-in-cheek way to kind of laugh about my circumstances, keep them chronicled. I didn’t think anyone would actually read it.” She told CNN.
The thing is people did read it, and through her blog she met up with Matt Barnes from Scotland who himself had been a homeless blogger. Matt asked Brianna to write for his site and eventually they got together as a couple.
But there was more. Karp had also attended an interview for a TV show which would offer the chance of a writing job at Elle magazine but by her own account she totally messed this up.
“I went back and blogged about bombing the interview and made fun of myself,” said Brianna, who on a whim emailed E. Jean Carroll at the magazine and basically asked what she had to do to get a second chance. Karp signed off the email with ‘homeless but not hopeless’.
Carroll was knocked out by Karp’s “courage” and decided to offer Karp an internship and a chance to write a fashion blog for the magazine.
“I think she’s a new voice,” Carroll said. “She’s a voice we haven’t heard, and I’m excited for her future.”
Through her laptop Karp kept hope on the horizon. It just goes to show what is possible with a laptop, a few words, and a fighting spirit, so whatever happens, don’t ditch the laptop guys.Your browser may not support display of this image.
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