Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 12

Christmas balls, stars and light part 12
Made with Canva

Day 12

Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?

Daily Writing Prompt

The first time I was on stage or performed was when I was 6. I played Mary in a Christmas play in kindergarten. Josef was played by a boy named Tom. He also went to the same class as me. He used to live opposite my building. Unfortunately, he died in a moped accident when he was 16. Anyway, I don’t remember anything about the play, but I have photos of it. In school, we had plays, but I didn’t want to have any speaking parts. In secondary school, when I was in a smaller class, one of my classmates’ dad worked in a local theatre, and he helped us with the productions. We had spring plays, and once, we had a musical and one scene in English. It was fun because we were a small group of different ages. There was no nuisance behaviour from others if you weren’t good. After all, they were school plays and not Broadway.

I never had speeches unless you count presentations. Those are nerve-wracking. I only want to say my things and leave. I try to avoid speeches, and I decline if I ever have to give one. Even if I got paid, I still wouldn’t do it. One-on-one is OK, but not in front of a crowd. Someone says you get used to talking to an audience, but I don’t want to get used to it. I don’t want to have the feeling of my mouth being dry and my heart beating faster. Let those people who like to make speeches do it. I’m not meant to do them. My skills lay elsewhere. We can’t all become speakers.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 7

Christmas balls, stars and light part 7
Made with Canva

What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?

Daily Writing Prompt

Day 7

After my Dad died on February 8 this year, I had at least one positive event to feel optimistic about. I went to see Bryan Adams in concert in Tampere, Finland, on July 5. I bought the ticket before my Dad died, but I never got a chance to tell him. I always said where I was going, whether for education or an event. It probably didn’t matter since my Dad knew little about foreign music anyway. He didn’t mind what was playing on the radio. I got my love for music from my mother, I suppose. When she was young, The Beatles and Elvis was a big thing. My Dad always asked when I went to events or saw a movie what I would see or how it was. Now, I don’t have anyone to tell, and not even on social media people seem to have enough time or care to react. It wouldn’t be the same anyway.

I will see Bryan Adams next year because it was so much fun. He does not only play music but also interacts with the audience. This time, the concert will be in Helsinki, closer to Autumn. Next year, I’ll go to four different concerts. You only live once, so why not fill the vessel of concerts with many events in one year? The first concert is only 85 days away. If this question were asked next year, I would be able to give more positive events than today. One positive event is better than nothing at all, right?

Music is not the only positive event that I’ve attended. I’ve also been to several ice hockey games. They were fun, even if my team lost some of them. The atmosphere is always great, and you see your favourite team play. The latest positive event I attended was in Helsinki, where the photography course I’ve taken had a VIP day on November 25. Even if I’m not an entrepreneur yet, I met many of them. It was nice to see other people for a change. I’ve got a lot of new information about marketing your business: lights and wireless microphones. It was a great day.

As I wrote, the vessel to positive events will continue next year. Who knows what else will happen.

Christmas Calendar 2024 – Day 6

Made with Canva

Day 6

Today is Finland’s Independence Day! It’s been over 100 years, and let’s hope it stays that way. There are many good things here, and I’m lucky to have been born in this country. Some things aren’t functional, but there are more positive than negative things. One is that you can see wild animals in nature and cities. Besides birds, you can see hedgehogs, foxes and white-tale deer. I’ve seen all of them and a fox several times. Once, a fox walked past me on the street.

I first saw a moose when I was a small child. I was probably 3 or 4 years old. We had a summer place then, and I was in a tub with water in the yard. Suddenly, I started screaming, and my parents wondered what was going on. A little further away, a moose with a big horn walked past. For a kid, it’s a scary thing. The moose was only walking by, so there was no danger. When the forest is near, you can see such things. Dad was filming the whole thing on Cine film at the time without sound, which is why I remember it and what my parents told me. I haven’t seen a moose after that. There aren’t many of them around where I live. There are more white-tail deer around, and I’ve seen many of them.

On Independence Day, I will light two candles, and that’s as far as my celebrations go. I don’t care about some ball from the president’s castle shown on TV yearly. It’s too dull for my taste. I prefer doing something else. It’s all about what the invited guests are wearing. They could dress in a plastic bag, but I still wouldn’t care. I can appreciate Finland’s independence in some other way. I’m not less of Finn if I don’t watch some ball. After all, it’s a free country, and we’re allowed to celebrate our way. That’s what independence means to me.