Today is the independence day of Finland, my beloved home country. Although I left from there when I was 8 years young (but of course visited on a yearly basis), Finland has its special precious place in my heart and I am a proud citizen of the land of my roots. Like I said on our Twitter earlier this morning, there are today 20 countries in the world with a female president and Finland is one of them. Finland was in fact the first country in the world to both allow women to vote and to be members of the parliament, as early as in 1906. Not only are Finland a pioneer in gender equality, but it is also according to new studies, the second least corrupt country in the world, only New Zealand is slightly above. No country's social standard and history is completely straight and unblemished, but what I have always loved and admired with our culture and Finns in general, is the straightforwardness, strong sense of personal integrity in most of the people you'll meet and the hard working mentality both in terms of social and political change and in everyday life that we are so well known for.
It is no thanksgiving day but today I am extra thankful for all the nice job that I have got, the amazing sponsored collaborations we have to look forward to for 2012, Alex and my future plans which will be preceded by hard work for a few more months, and for my roots and my family's background which has shaped me to become the person that I am today.
Click here and here to see a few of my photos from my beautiful home country and to read the story from the last time that I flew home to Finland for a few days, earlier this year.
Click here and here to see a few of my photos from my beautiful home country and to read the story from the last time that I flew home to Finland for a few days, earlier this year.
