What I have Done Every Summer Since 2002

Me steering our first boat with my dad

Ever since I can remember, every summer of mine was spent on a boat. It was the year 2002 when my parents decided to ditch our motor boat for a sailing boat that could fit the whole family for a longer period of time. This was a decision that really changed my entire childhood. Instead of going to a summer cottage or flying off to some other country, I’d now be doing something that was more or less the combination of those two.

The most exciting thing in the beginning of the summer was to pack up my things and move to our boat. I would always be so thrilled to set up my room and start the summer holiday, which was never planned, so I was always surprised at what I came across.

Having a boat opened up an abundance of places for us to visit that we hadn’t thought about before. It started small as we got used to this new lifestyle, we joined a boating club in Haukilahti which allowed us to visit an island that was owned by the club. This island became almost like our summer cottage, since we would visit it even on regular weekends. I made many memories and friends with other children who would come there regularly with their families, some of whom I still keep in touch with today.

This was only the beginning of our relationship with sailing, as it would grow to be an even bigger hobby later. We soon made family friends with people from our boating club, which is one of the reasons why we started exploring more places. We would put together a group of families and set off to sail together for the whole summer. This was really fun for me as a kid, since we would be away for over a month, and all that time I could spend with my friends. We always started in our home harbour in Haukilahti, went to the club island Tallklippan for a pit stop, and then started off to the Baltic sea. 

Each summer was different, when I was small we often went to Hanko for a week, and then continued to the islands bordering Southern Finland, which led us to Åland and then Sweden. There were so many beautiful places to see, and young me was happy to swim and fish with my friends all day, and explore new places every few days. Each new harbour brought a new set of friends, and it was especially easy for me to make friends because I was in an English kindergarten, which helped me communicate with other children even when they didn't speak Finnish. Spending all that time in the Åland islands and Sweden also helped me learn Swedish, as when i was under 7 I could still speak Swedish fairly well, but unfortunately for me I didn't continue speaking Swedish enough to be able to speak it to this date.

Me in Sandhamn Harbour in Sweden

Sweden was always my favorite place to go, because it was so beautiful and interesting compared to many places in the Finnish archipelago that I had already grown familiar with. When going to Sweden we would always land in Sandhamn, a beautiful harbour which was always busy, and then continue inland to Stockholm. One of the longest trips we took was to Visby, which is a city in Gotland, the large island next to Sweden. I could handle these long sails as a child because I would remind myself of all the fun locations that were waiting on the other end of the trip.

Sometimes I wondered if it was worth it, because a big storm and huge waves could be very dangerous, and the sea sickness didn’t help either. I remember being scared as a child when our boat’s keel hit a rock in the middle of a trip, or when big lightning storm came to harbour we were staying at. These may have been scary moments, but I’m also glad that I have these experiences. All of these slightly bad moments are easily overruled by the good ones, and I remember my summers spent on a boat very fondly, since I can’t imagine there’s anything else I could’ve done all those summers that would’ve been quite as exciting.

Me and my little brother on our boat

Nowadays we don’t have nearly as much time to sail in the summer as we used to, and we only go out for a couple weeks a year. But so far there isn’t a single summer that we haven’t gone out with our boat, even if the distance travelled varied. Today we stick to the nearby places, and go only as far as Hanko or Tallinn, and we never have time to sail to Sweden anymore. It’s understandable that that part of our lives is over, and we’ve changed as a family since then. I think that some things are better left in the past as good memories, and I’m happy to take on the new experiences that each upcoming summer throws at me.

Are Soccer/Football Games too long?

Soccer, also known as football is the most popular sport in the whole world, and I'm going to call it soccer for now. Soccer is actually a very simple sport, almost anyone can play it anytime anywhere, for a lot of us, some of our best memories are making a few goal posts out of hats and playing soccer in the streets or anywhere with family or friends. The simplicity of the sport makes it so popular and widespread all over the world. So why take away that fun and excitement with a game which is way too long.

If you are unaware a professional soccer game lasts for 90 minutes, plus extra time which is added on by the referees because the clock does not stop, except halftime which means one half is 45 minutes. That sounds like a long time to be running after a ball on a very large field, right? There's more, if the game is tied at the end it either ends as a tie, but in major tournaments there is extra time, which is an additional 30 minutes of game time (two 15 minute extra times), if it is still tied after that, then it goes to a penalty shootout. Even though people who watch soccer games might think that the players don't run or most of them just walk around, in a professional game, a player runs anywhere from 8 km to even up to 14 km a game. You may think, oh why don't they just change the players on the field, this is because each team has on 3 substitutions, which means that of of the 11 players starting at least 8 have to finish the whole game. Yes, professional players have worked hard and are in good shape, but would't a lot of people be tired running back and forth for possibly 120 minutes.

Most games which go to extra time are a so called disaster, the players and fans cheering are so tired at this point. The players often go down with injuries or get cramps, which obviously cause easy mistakes. The fans are so tired from cheering for 90 minutes already that they would want to go straight to a penalty shootout, I mean who wouldn't, it is one of the most exciting things in all of sports. Also in these matches you can see opponents or referees even help other players stretch their legs out because of cramps, and thats not what the sport is about. Honestly extra time is a waste of time as like I mentioned, they are not playing the actual game when so many of the players are getting injured or cramps.

I think that soccer games are too long because the players get too tired as well as the fans, I think that is would be better to go straight to a penalty shootout if the game is tied after 90 minutes, but some people may think, "well that's unfair, it's not even real soccer" so if there is a required extra time it should been 15 or maybe even 10 minutes then to a penalty shootout, to keep the games interesting for the fans and to keep the players at least a little bit safer from horrible injuries. It would need a miracle for a big rule in a huge sport to change, but every sport has it's flaws and this is one of soccers bigger ones.


Sources:
-http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/the-distance-run-per-game-in-various-sports/slide/6
-http://www.thesportster.com/entertainment/top-15-dumbest-rules-in-sports/
-https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/jun/25/switzerland-v-poland-euro-2016-live

Life as a twin

Everyone probably has at some point in their life wanted a twin sister or brother, because they think it would be so cool. They have probably always thought that they could switch places with each other or do pranks with people. They might think it would be so cool to have the same birthday as the other or to be in the same grade.

Well to tell the truth it is great to have a twin, but then sometimes it isn’t that great. You can always get help on work if needed from them because they are in the same grade as you, you have someone to talk to and you can borrow(steal) clothes from them.

I have a twin sister, and these are some things of many on why I love having a twin and then on why having a twin isn't that great always. There are the things like being in the same class as my sister can be sometimes nice and fun but it might sometimes not be that great. Because everyone knows you as twins in that class and nothing else and might compare us. Another thing is that if my sister or I gets to go somewhere, like on a trip, the other one will most likely get the same kind of trip too.

The only thing you could have to yourself, your birthday, you share with your twin. My birthday is never just about me, because it’s always about both of us. I have always shared my birthday parties with my twin and never experienced my own.

The things that aren't that great is that we will most likely get the same present but it will be a different color or the same even. Like for an example I got a necklace because I had asked for jewelry, my sister hadn't asked for anything so she had gotten the same amount that gift was but in money. So meaning by this is that if we do get a different gift, it will still be the same price. Another not so great thing about having a twin is that people get mixed up with our names a lot. Like are you Sofia or Anna. It can get annoying in some ways, especially when we don't even look a like-fraternal.

It might not always be that fun having a twin, but most of the time I love having one. Because I always have a friend to go to in bad times and if we go to vacations I always have a friend with me. Being a twin makes it a unique experience while growing up.

Sources:

-https://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/what-its-like-being-a-twin?utm_term=.plQBgepWe#.ciJ1mLb2L

Is it actually reality?

Reality tv shows are easily addictive and usually create a lot of opinions. Although they might seem simple and easy, when you are watching a lovely singing contestant, one might ask oneself what is actually going on behind the scenes? It might be that it is not that black and white as it seems to be. It might be good to sometimes think critically and consider that everything might not actually be as simple as it seems. You might also ask yourself if you are actually watching reality tv or something else?

Well, I have been following X Factor for a while and actually our whole family is watching it. I have fallen so strongly for these kind of shows and followed them intensely for a few years.

Keeping average contestants instead of good singers

But I feel like it has changed. Is everything actually not reality after all? Because it seemed like people that were funny but had a terrible voices were kept safe and not voted off the show. Although that seems weird because isn´t the whole point of a talent show that the ones with the best voices are going through to the next round and the ones that do not reach to the standard are sent home? Are the ones with bad voices kept safe just for entertainment? And just for people to have opinions and talk about the show? Cause at least for me I feel annoyed when good singers are sent home while more like comedians with average voice are kept safe just so that people have something to talk about. And the worst part of it is that it actually works. People that don´t have a good voice but are funny actually get people really opinionated and make us watch the show so we are able to express our opinions. I felt like it when I watched the X Factor. I didn´t understand how more like “comedians” were sent through to the next round and good singers were sent home.

Knowing the winner from the beginning

And also, is it already decided in the beginning of the shows who is going to be in the top 5 or even who´s the winner? And that they randomly choose other contestants just to make people watch the show and just to mix them with the winners? And because they have already chosen the top 5, they don´t mind having bad singers and more like comedians in the show, as it doesn´t matter. Cause who would watch a show where everyone is perfect and have the most beautiful voices? And that people that actually have a chance are sent home because there wouldn´t be as many people watching the show and sharing opinions and tweeting about it? Because the show is actually there just for the making sure that people are watching it.

Themes

In X Factor, they have a system that randomly chooses themes for the following week. The theme is reflected in the songs singed by the contestants. It seemed weird to me as it just happened that the halloween theme just happened to randomly be chosen when it was Halloween. It must have been just a coincidence... And I guess that it was also just a coincidence when the christmas theme happened to be one of the last themes as Christmas is approaching. I guess it would´ve been stupid if the christmas theme would´ve been the first theme and the halloween theme not on halloween. But it was said that the system would just randomly pick a theme and not choose a theme to fit the situation.

I don´t know if this is true. It might just be me over analysing it. But these thoughts popped to my mind when I watched the show. Is everything actually planned and organised precisely for us to be glued to the show and of course the show getting money because of so many watching it? Are we all just being fooled and has it all gone overboard? I don´t know. These are my thoughts.

How language immersion can affect an individual's life

What it is

Language immersion is when a child is taught a foreign language from a very early age. There are different degrees of language immersion, but the traditional language immersion starts at the age of four and continues throughout the entire comprehensive school.

I will be talking about Swedish language immersion, since I have experienced it myself. When the kids start language immersion they are not taught the language in the traditional sense. Instead the kindergarten teachers just start speaking (in my case) Swedish to the kids. The teachers are bilingual so when a kid says something Finnish the teachers understand, but respond in Swedish. First the kids will be a little bit lost, but slowly they start understanding and using Swedish themselves. Surprisingly this is a very painless and a quick way to learn a language.

How I ended up there

Usually the people in language immersion don’t have any ties to that language and are there simply because their parents thought that it might be a good idea.

I ended up there by accident. At the age of four I had two really good friends and their parents had decided for them to start in Swedish immersion - mine hadn’t. This meant that I would have to be in a different group than my friends and I was not okay with that. The stubborn child I was I somehow convinced my parents to transfer me into the same group as them so I ended up in Swedish immersion. And this was the best decision I ever made that I can’t remember making.

How does it actually affects an individual 

Language immersion is not the same as growing up in a bilingual family and doesn’t have the same benefits, but it can still benefit you a lot. It is something where you have a language you definitely don’t speak perfectly (unless you have worked hard on using the language outside of school), understand the language very well, might not write it that well, but still remember speaking it as long as you can remember.

It has been proven that learning multiple languages when you are still a kid, benefits you a lot later in life. Language immersion makes this possible for children who don’t come from bilingual families. Personally it helped me learn English much faster and I probably would never even had the courage to apply to the IB if I had’t previously studied using a language that is foreign to me.

Downsides?

Some people claim that language immersion has lots of downsides. The most popular claim is that it can affect negatively learning the student's native tongue. I find this to be completely inaccurate. When comparing my and my former classmates written and spoken skills in Finnish to some students who have studied entirely in Finnish you can’t really see a difference in the results. This can be explained by the fact that the amount of subjects studied in Swedish drops every year resulting in 9th grade being taught 50% in Finnish and us having a lot of Finnish lessons throughout our studies.

In my opinion the only problem is that some people don’t take full advantage of this chance. Swedish immersion students often end up talking Finnish to each other instead of Swedish, since their Finnish is stronger. This means that the students have no one they have casual conversations in Swedish with. Swedish becomes the language you speak with teachers and maybe even avoid using it. It completely depends on the individual if they want to use Swedish actively or not. Unfortunately I know some Swedish immersion students who barely can speak the language simply because of their lack of interest in using the language.

In general I think that language immersion is an amazing chance for people to learn a new language without technically studying it, developing your brain when you are still a kid and having the chance to feel fluent in more than one language.

What I eat in a day on a vegan diet

A vegan is a person who doesn't consume any animal products. This includes meat, dairy, eggs, seafood, additives made from animals (e.g. gelatin), wool, leather and silk. Vegans do not contribute to animal testing, hunting or any other activity that harms animals. This means that vegans try to avoid causing any kind of animal suffering in the best way possible*. A plant-based person is someone who eats as a vegan but may still use leather or any other products made of animals.

I wouldn’t call myself a vegan. I still use a few leather items and some cosmetics with animal ingredients, that I bought before transitioning to this lifestyle. I currently avoid buying non-vegan products, which is the most important part for me personally, because you are not currently directly supporting the companies that sell animal products.

I’ve been plant-based for about 10 months now and I haven’t eaten any meat in over a year. One of the biggest reasons why I stopped eating animal products was the environmental issues and the impact that the meat-, dairy- and egg industry has on climate change. Producing meat also uses a lot of resources, such as water. Another good reason is the health benefits. I feel really good on a plant-based diet and it has affected my body in a positive way. I’ve only been sick once during 2016 and most of my skin issues have disappeared. These are only the short-term benefits and I’m waiting for even more long-term benefits, after I’ve been plant-based for a larger amount of time. The third reason for why I stopped eating animal products is the bad treatment and suffering of the animals. For me it feels completely unnecessary to kill and torture animals when it’s possible to get all the nutrients needed on a plant-based diet. 

A misconception that people often have about vegans is that their diet mostly consist of extremely healthy foods such as lettuce, tomato and other vegetables. This is probably why many people see plant-based diets as something extremely restrictive. This is definitely not the case for me and that’s why I decided to show my meals on a typical lazy Sunday. I wanted show that you can eat a plant-based version of all your favorite foods. The meals are not the healthiest but they’re made in a healthier way by using more natural sweeteners, less additives and fresh ingredients. All of the meals are homemade and therefore also healthier. 

Breakfast

For breakfast I made banana-oat pancakes by using a recipe for coconut pancakes from the book Eat Smart by Niomi Smart as a base. We didn’t have coconut so I replaced it with some other ingredients that we had at home. I also put some blueberries, strawberry jam and maple syrup on top of the pancakes. This is not the healthiest breakfast but the recipe is made by using only natural unprocessed sweeteners such as banana and maple syrup. I really loved them and I would definitely try them again. I also ate a banana right after I woke up to get some energy to make the pancakes.

Tea time 

Since I ate breakfast so late I didn’t feel like making lunch. That’s why I decided to drink a huge cup of tea instead. The tea I used is from my tea Christmas calendar and it really helped me focus because I had a lot of school assignments to do during the day. 

Dinner 

For dinner I made pizza from scratch (with the help of my mom). We didn’t use any recipe when making the pizza and I just added my favorite toppings. It’s really easy to make a vegan pizza because you don’t have to do anything else than to leave out the cheese (or you could use vegan cheese but I don’t personally like the taste of it). 

The meal is one of my favorite ones to make because it’s healthy and it fills you up properly. I actually loved the pizza so much that the pizza was gone in just a few hours. 

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I also had some vegan ice-cream for dessert. The chocolate-peanut-caramel ice-cream by Kolmen Kaverin Jäätelö is an ongoing favorite.

  

I often get the question "is it hard to be plant-based?" and this blogpost is an answer to it. So yes, it can feel a bit odd in the beginning but you quickly get used to it. It becomes a way of life. It becomes a part of you that you can be extremely proud of. I haven't regretted this decision and I plan to be plant-based for as long as possible.

*I used the word possible because there are a lot of ways that someone can contribute to animal suffering when consuming products that are vegan. This is simply because animal ingredients can be used in the making of these products. For example, white sugar, which is made by using bone char (burned animal bones) as a filter. This contributes to animal suffering because bone char is a byproduct of the meat industry. Therefore when buying white sugar, you are also contributing to the meat industry, that contributes to animal suffering. Therefore no one that buys any kinds of processed foods or even goes to supermarkets can be fully vegan because all these contribute to animal suffering in some kind of way. 

*Disclaimer* These are my own values and opinions. They are not made to offend anyone. I am not an expert and therefore you should do your own research if you are considering becoming a vegan. 

If you are interested in veganism I should suggest these documentaries: Cowspiracy, Forks over knives and  Earthlings. (I've gotten most of my information by watching them.)

Jolly Jane(History’s interesting women)

Jolly Jane(History’s interesting women)

Jolly Jane was born in 1857 Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents were irish immigrants. She lost her mother to tuberculosis at a very young age. Soon after her father went crazy from grief and started drinking. He was rumored to have sown his eyelids shut from insanity. In 1863, he  took his two daughters to Boston Female Asylum. Jane never got adopted but had benefactors from whom she got the name Toppan.

She excelled in school work and was accepted to train  as nurse at Cambridge. She paid special attention to autopsies and was obsessed with them. Some of her colleagues and teacher were quite disturbed by this. She was later dismissed from the school but had enough qualifications to be hired as a nurse. In those days nurses were referred to as “Angels of Mercy”.

Jane  worked  as a private nurse in different places for a while. On July 4,1901 she accompanied her old friend Mrs.Mattie Davis, who died recently to Cataumet Massachusetts for burial. Soon after Alden Davis hired her as the family nurse. This came at a great time because the eldest daughter Annie Gordon was sick. Tragically Annie died on July 29. The sadness of the Davis family doesn't end there. Mr. Davis suffered from a stroke and died after a few days.

Due to the tragic deaths of the family members, the last remaining daughter of the Davis, Mary Gibbs came to arrange the memorials. But several days later she also died too. Gibb’s husband was shocked and suspicious of the family being wiped out. He demanded an autopsy to be performed on his wife’s remains.

The autopsy confirmed that his wife had been poisoned by morphine and atropine. All eyes were now on Jane. She had tried to prevent the autopsy and had taken care of all the family members. Suspicions were at an all time high and Jane fled  Boston.

She was finally arrested in New Hampshire, 1901. She finally confessed to killing the Davis clan but also eleven other victims. Which she later on changed to thirty one victims. She had also managed to kill her foster sister before her arrest. As the authorities followed her footsteps, they suspected  that she had over thirty one victims but were unable to prove it. Jane had sexual thrills from her patients being near death and coming back to life. She would slow down their heart beat by atropine and bring them back with morphine. During this process she would lie with them in bed and hold them close as they died. This is considered uncommon for female serial killers. Jane is one of the top 10 female serial killers that were caught. Most believe she pleaded insanity in order to be released at some point during her sentence.

The most interesting thing about Jolly Jane is that she would have been caught sooner if only the authorities didn't think a mere female was capable of such atrocities. Her early childhood history shows that she was unstable and had tried to commit suicide on several occasions. She had also shown signs of being a sociopath. We can learn from this to ever underestimate a person and their capabilities.

Sources
-Criminal Podcast
-http://murderpedia.org/female.T/t/toppan-jane.htm
-http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/