I Am A Feminist

I am a feminist. This doesn’t mean I hate men. Being a feminist means I care about women’s and men’s rights, that I think everyone should be equal. It means I’m strong, independent and can think for myself.

I’m from Finland. That doesn’t mean I drink alcohol like a sponge soaks up water, never show any emotion, that I have blonde hair… It just means that I was born in a certain country, have a certain nationality.

I’m an atheist, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect other’s beliefs, that I think they’re idiots for believing in something that for them is bigger. It doesn’t mean I don’t hang around people who follow a religion. It just means that I personally don’t believe in a religion.

I am a woman. That doesn’t mean I’m scared of spiders, great in the kitchen and know how to clean everything. That just makes me a woman.

I support LGBTQ rights, and that doesn’t make me gay. It just means I accept people of other sexualities just like they are, and that I think other people should be accepting them too.

No matter what you believe in, who you are or what you are, you should never be reduced to a stereotype. You’re bigger than that, stronger than something as weak as prejudice. You’re bigger than the group you’re part of, you are an individual. Whatever you believe, is yours, not part of some stereotype people pin onto you.
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(Picture credit: wikiHow)

Appreciation

More often than not, we forget to value the things in our everyday life that are good, that make us feel better and make our existence what it is. We forget, because these things are always around. Our friends, our interests and our personal belongings, and more often than not, we only realize how much they’re worth to us once we lose them, either temporarily or permanently.

My advice for you today is that you take a moment today to find out what matters to you, what you care about and appreciate it more. Whatever makes you feel happy, safe or inspired, make sure you value it.

My laptop is my portable safe zone, something that always makes me feel calm, relaxed, something that brings me inspiration and music (which is also a huge source of inspiration for me), something that is so important to me that I wouldn’t know what to do if I lost it. Yesterday the charger to it broke, and I for a moment realized how important it actually was to me. I’m currently using a borrowed charger, so I’m fine now, but it was a really important realization.

I finally know how important this laptop is to me, and to you that might sound ridiculous, that something that trivial is that important to me, but it is. I love my laptop, and I love everything it brings me. I found out how much I actually appreciate this little piece of technology. I hope all of you manage to realize what matters to you in your daily life, what makes you happy and you appreciate it every single day.

Kaffia And The Response

So, as all the drama has finally died down, I decided to respond to the comments on the post about Kaffia (I know, I know, long overdue). I figured it was finally time to answer to some of the things you guys wrote.

First of all, thanks to the Kaffia staff for being almost the only ones respecting the language of the blog, and to the only ones actually taking the critique as just that; critique.

However, I won’t be responding to each individual comment, just the general sense of them, because responding to everyone would take a lot of time.

First of all; chai latte isn’t coffee. The reason I thought it was, is that when it was introduced to me, my boyfriend at the time told me it contained coffee. As I had it many times over the years after that, I never questioned it or bothered to actually check what it contained. And since this seemed more important to most people than the actual post; I’m so sorry that I didn’t know there was no coffee in it, please get past it. The fact still stands; I have loved that drink for a long time, I know what it’s supposed to taste like, and that was not it. Just because you don’t know all the ingredients of a mascara, it doesn’t mean that you don’t know what you’re supposed to do with it.

Second of all, to all of those hating me because I critiqued the coffee shop itself: if this was a bigger place, or a chain, no one would have cared. People need to realize that small businesses can’t have an automatic pass for criticism just because they’re a small place or because you know them personally. I expected some upset comments, otherwise I would’ve been extremely stupid: of course it’s going to get personal, it’s in a small town. But small business or not, they have to take criticism, in whatever form it comes.

When you start up a business, or put yourself out there in one way or another, you have to be prepared to take criticism from your surroundings, in several ways (I should know, I do it every day). There is no way around it.

Lastly, I want to thank my friends and the other people supporting me after reading the harsh words written to me online. Thanks for all your hugs, your kind words and your encouragement. You all matter the world to me, you are my biggest strength. I love all of you so, so much!

Day #207

Today me and the family went out to the sea, my mom planning and promising a good time. Tough for me, it was kind of spontaneous, I got told about it yesterday and was not very prepared for the family trip. The ride took about one and a half hour, or maybe a little bit more. I tried to relax, listening to some of my favorite bands in the back of the car. I loved the picture taking, the water and the fresh air, but the weather was always kind of cloudy, so not too great. Seeing a new place, taking pictures and making new memories is always interesting, and it was this time as well, although I’m now completely exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open and my back hurts like hell. I haven't really seen this part of the country, so it was nice to see the small harbour, the boats and the beautiful old buildings. I only wish that the circumstances were better.

  I have always tried to see the positive in things, but today it was really, really hard. I wasn't feeling well at all, upset about things that I don't want to mention to all of you reading, because it would probably upset the people involved and I'm not one to drag someone (even if it would be satisfying and give me a lot of sympathy points). I've been thinking about it for a while, decided we and the person were past it, and it turns out that no we were not. The thing was still upsetting the other person involved, and I didn't get to relax at all even if it was supposed to be a fun thing with my family and relatives, and my mind was absolutely stuck in the drama. It was really frustrating.

I also got to drive the car on the way back, which was great. I haven’t gotten much practice in driving in larger cities, and I really miss driving the car while I’m in Åbo. It’s so peaceful and relaxing to drive and listen to music, it’s one of my favorite things in the entire world.

I also met my cousins, and my uncle and his wife (from my mother’s side of the family) and I loved meeting them. I have always cared a lot about my uncles family, and about him. I feel that we are very alike, which is why it saddens me so much that I haven’t seen them since forever, and the kids have grown so much. I never realise how long I’ve actually been gone, how much time has passed since I met someone in my life and how much they’ve grown and/or changed while I was away at school.

Enjoy these pictures from the little fieldtrip, and I hope you all had a really fun and interesting Wednesday!