10 Years in Finland. Conclusions.

Yesterday, August 25, is exactly 10 years of me being in Finland. In 2009, I arrived to this country being extremely naive and scared of everything. I could not even imagine that there can be such a safe place, where you can freely walk in the late evening, where you can loose your purse and find it with all valuables still inside. It is difficult to explain but I had to learn to trust people. Before, I got used to be on alert that someone will scam me, I was afraid to tell things about myself not to be used against me. In Finland, no one takes advantage of you. Also, you can fully rely on authorities in case you need help. It was all so new to me…

But this post will be more about the life as such and less about the place.

10 years is a long time. There are absolutely amazing moments and really tough times. I was learning how to live in a new culture, how to be independent. Before moving, I lived with my parents, who took a good care of me though I was already an adult. All of a sudden, I could do what I want and make my own decisions.

These 10 years included a long exhausting way of learning who I am and what I want in life. This process was accomplished a year ago. I went though a lot of unnecessary actions, communicated with a number of wrong people before I figured out the right direction. I did not realise that I was waisting my precious time, which could be applied to fulfill big projects. I was acting without a plan, I was a blind kitten moving around and hitting the obstacles.

During these 10 years, I was lucky to get great education, interesting work experience, present on international conferences. Yet, I feel that so many wonderful opportunities were lost as I did not have a clear goal. If only I could travel back in time and set the direction for my younger self.

These 10 years are absolutely amazing experience; however, I still feel that much left unaccomplished. I should have done much more. In a sense, I feel I made a complete circle and ended up with what I started.

The main conclusion I made is to be proactive and not to wait for the right moment. The right moment may never come. It is important to learn from the past, but not to stay there in your thoughts.