December 6, 2017 – In my world

Today it’s Independence Day in Finland. 100 years of it. Blue and white lights are being lit on buildings in different parts of the world. Even in Ethiopia. It’s an honour to be remembered by other countries. What Finns love the most is hearing praise. We’re really proud of our nation. No one is perfect though. Like any other country, we’re not saintly. This is not the day to have negative thoughts.

There’s a saying in Finland, it’s a jackpot to be born in Finland. You really can say that. For starters, there haven’t been any wars since 1917. Our school system has been praised. We get our basic education for free. We don’t need to pay for our school lunch either. It doesn’t matter what background you come from, you still get an education. High school is only optional. If you don’t want to go, you can study an occupation in vocational school instead. So if you don’t go to high school, it’s not the end of the world. There are different ways to educate yourself. Education of any kind is very important. You have a better chance to get a job. It depends on what kind of job you’re looking for though.

Finns love their sport. Especially ice hockey. We have won the championship twice, 1995 and 2011. Winter sports, in general, have been successful. We’re also good at other sports. Recent success has been in female floorball and ringette.
Finns are also well known in motorsport. If you want to win, hire a Finn, is a well known saying. Being a small nation with so many champions have amazed other countries. There haven’t been any champions in recent years though. The standard is higher and many other great drivers are coming along from other countries. But I think there will always be Finns in motorsport.

There are so many great things in Finland so it would take forever to write. We have nature and we have the sauna but it’s so much more. Never underestimate a Finn. We might be famous for being introverted and reserved. But when we get going, there’s nothing that stops us. We’re honest and trustworthy. I’m proud to be a Finn. Veterans fought for our independence and for 100 years Finland has been war-free. I’m happy to have been born here and I wouldn’t change it for the world.