Young People Don't Know Anything

   I found this tweet recently, and I can't help but think about how perfectly this captures something I've been thinking about and been bothered by for years. The older generations tend to claim that the younger ones never care about something important, but once they actually do, their opinions and thoughts get dismissed siply by calling them "young and dumb" because they don't agree with the older generation.
   As young people, we are expected to know what we want to do with our lives by 15 (and latest by 15), but if we realize we're gay, we suddenly don't know what we're talking about, because we are too young to know. When we find our view on politics, we're dismissed because we're too young to know. When we start realizing the patriarchy, racism, the views on other religions other than our own are huge problems, we are dismissed because we're too young to know what we're talking about.
   To expect a child, because that's what teenagers beneath 18 are, still children, to choose something, and claim you support them, but turn around the second that choice doesn't support your views, then you shouldn't be a parent, especially if it's something that isn't a choice. Your gay son doesn't choose to be gay, your atheist daughter doesn't choose to not be catholic. It's something they feel in their heart, so it's not really their choice. If they choose to support equality, religious freedom, other sexualities, it's not to defy you, and to be honest, if you're a parent, an idol, grandparent or whatever: you honestly shouldn't care about what they choose to support. Just because something doesn't match your world views, it doesn't mean it's wrong.
   If you expect your child to choose a career, a school, a place to live and an apartment, but when they choose their own beliefs, you shun them, I honestly think you're a shitty parent. You can't tell your child to be whatever they want to be, and then when they do, turn around and make them feel bad about. You are your childs first view of the adult world. Make a good impression.

Husö

I'm finally back home, and figured this would be the perfect time to upload this. Remember to subscribe to my channel, click here to do so!

I'm Home

Theo surprised with wine, flowers etc. when I got home

   After spending two weeks on an island, I'm finally home. I can sleep in my own bed, eat when I want to, and go outside when I want to. It feels amazing to be back, and tonight I had the best sleep I've had in months. Estelle is driving us crazy, as usual. If I had only half of her energy, I'd write a lot more blogposts, I'll tell you that much.
   Though I told myself that when I got back, I'd be able to take it easy and bum around for about a week before school starts, I realize that this is not the case. Already today there's been grocery shopping, laundry, paying bills, registering for school and planning my classes for the first two months. And for the rest of the day there's a lot more to do: unpack, reading emails (all three different accounts), editing the Husö vlog, and doing more laundry before I'm satisfied.
   But I am, despite the work already forming, really happy to be back. I feel so motivated to get started with my studies again, and really give it my all this year, and not to mention all the things I'm doing/planning that aren't school related, such as projects for the blog, being part of different projects for the students at ÅA, and a bunch of other things. I can't wait to get this show on the road again!

I got back to my cactus doing this... Used to be the size of the right one

   Spending two weeks on Åland was a great experience, something I'll never forget, and I've found a lot of new friends, shaped new bonds and formed a lot of nice memories, not to mention learned a lot, during my time there, but it was really intense and a part of me is really happy that it's over. It was a once in a lifetime experience, but I'm honestly kind of happy I don't have to go through it again. Intense is good, but in small doses.
   For now, I'm going to enjoy life on my couch and edit together a video showing all the things we did/saw/studied during those two weeks, enjoy some candy and listen to some nice music.
It's great to be back!

I'm Living On an Island for 2 Weeks!

Sunset from Monday's walk

   Okay, so here's whats going on. A mandatory part of my degree is spending two weeks worth of time at a research facility in the Åland Islands. When I got here, I was really insecure about the whole thing, because I would be spending time with people I didn't know very well, have very little alone/free time, which is very important to me, and be away from Theo and Estelle for all of that time before seeing them again. Though, it wasn't all bad. I was also excited, because I viewed it like a great way to kick off the school year, a great place to spend all that time and knew the surroundings would be beautiful (that part was right, I've taken an insane amount of nature pictures!).
   We got here Monday, after spending the majority of the day on the boat which would take us to Mariehamn. The boat trip wasn't very interesting in it self, but I did get to see the class I'm spending these two weeks with, and they were all really nice to me. We had coffee, ate lunch on the boat and bought some candy to help us survive the intense class. When arriving at Husö, the place we're staying at, we were greeted by scientists in our field and took a short tour of all the building. We learned that this is a place for research as well as somewhere people come to write their doctoral thesis, and the surroundings and buildings were gorgeous. I paired up with the only person I knew well, since living space is always shared for those taking a class, and she turned out to be a delight to live with, so that worked out for the best. We had a short lecture and after taking a walk, I tumbled into bed, completely exhausted, something I soon would learn seemed to be the standard.
   Tuesday was spent travelling to different lakes and collecting samples of insects and plant life before heading back to the lab where they all were identified, something that would take a lot of time and prove to be both difficult and very interesting. I very much enjoyed it, and we even had our lunch out in the field, something I think I'm going to remember for a long time, since both the view and the company was so nice.

The Yellow House, where we eat breakfast

   Wednesday was pretty much the same as Tuesday, but with another lake in place of the three from before. We also created a powerpoint for our findings and figured out what species they were, took water samples and then actually got some free time in the evening, since we had been working faster than expected. Free time is pretty rare here, so it was appreciated among all of us, and we spent it playing volleyball, watching the Red Dragon, and just in general chatting up some storms.

Picture from the lake we visited yesterday

   I really like being here. I miss Theo and Estelle a lot, but mostly I'm too busy to think about anything but work, which is actually a huge relief. I also quite like the group and everything else coming with the course, and somehow it's weird to think that this is already the fourth day. I only wish I had a little bit more alone time.
   Spare time is also a bit sparse due to us having a really packed schedule. During the day, there's almost always a visit to a lake/other system planned, and then during afternoons/evenings we study species and have lectures, while planning tomorrows travels. During the day, we're lucky if we manage to have one our of free time, which is then (at least for me) spent studying for the exam we have at the end of this course. All in all, during the entire day, about four hours of time are put into our exercise, studies for the exam, showers/naps and such, and of course socializing with the others. No wonder you plummet into your bed at the end of the day, falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow!
   However, being here is great. I'm learning so so much, and I'm getting to know really kind, interesting people from all over the country, which is always a fascinating experience. I'll update you more later, for now I have to head out for lunch!

Haparanda

   Since yesterday was the last day everyone was free before my dad goes back to work and me and my siblings go back to school, we decided to take a short family trip to Haparanda. Considering it's in another country, it's surprisingly close to our place, and driving only took 4-5 hours (it's hard for me to tell since I fell heavily asleep during the drive back). I was really happy to be able to come with, since my working hours are so weird, and my days off don't match the norm, it was a very pleasant surprise for me to be able to come along. My family isn't that much into travel either, so once they do go somewhere, they prefer it if we all go at once.
   Once in Sweden, we really didn't do much. Since we go to Haparanda quite a lot, we have a bit of usual stuff we often do. We go to IKEA, and then we go for hamburgers at Max (which we've done about 2-3 times). We also visited a fishing store, since my dad and brother wanted some gear and I was searching for something for my upcoming class, which I didn't find ( I found it today however, when shopping with mom and dad in Kokkola). Most of the time was actually spent in IKEA, which I didn't mind. I actually love walking around, looking at the little displays of rooms, because I love to imagine what it would be like to live in apartments looking like that, or what it would be like to have a livingroom/kitchen/bedroom that looks the way theirs do. However, I didn't do any shopping there, since I prefer to buy furniture and things closer to home, and we happen to have an IKEA about 7km away from our apartment.
   We also visited a candy store, which was huge. That's where I got the candy in the lower pictures (nerds, and Renskit, which literally translates to "raindeer droppings", which is despite the name quite a delicious candy).
   I had a lot of fun there, and was especially surprised when I woke up this morning and realized I had slept very well, about six hours according to my watch, something that made making it to work today a lot easier. Needless to say, these past four days have been crazy intense, and I look forward to life calming down a few days before I have to start thinking about packing up my stuff and leaving (yes, I'm going back to Åbo next week's Sunday, sleep there for one night, and then going off onto the ocean to experience marine biology in the field, how exciting!).
   For now though, I will just relax a while at Theos place, spend the night before going back home tomorrow, where I'll take care of some things that need doing, and then head to Kokkola, where I am (drumroll please) going to get my second tattoo! But that's for tomorrow's me to handle, right now I'm going to wait for Theo to get done with what he's doing and then we're going to watch some Supernatural and relax. He's also had a rough past few days and we both feel like we deserve to relax a bit, so...
   Before I log off for today though, I just want to say that I am insanely grateful for where I'm at in life right now. In the span of 3 days I've completed two things on my bucketlist, been to the edge of the Russian border and been to another country. I've been feeling happy (although a tad sleep deprived), grateful and motivated for almost a week, and I keep having new ideas on what to write, what videos to make, what to add to my bucketlist, etc. In short, I'm happy, and I can't wait to see what the universe has in stock for me for the upcoming months.
   Today marks the beginning of a new month. Make the most of August. Acheive/work for your goals, travel, spend more time around people you love, and focus on making choices that are good for you! This month is for you to grab and make your own, lets do that!