sometimes quiet is violent

Hi! Its been a while, I've been studying for exams and waiting outside for hours for movie tickets, the usual. I was watching a movie yesterday though, and I got "inspired" (debates on whether or not inspiration happens will be discussed at a later date) and so I decided to write this blog post. I don't know if you guys do this, but when a tv-show or a movie is really really intense emotionally, I have to pause it. I pause to catch up with my own feelings, to calm down before the confrontation happens, or just because I do not want to continue. I am terrified of confrontation. Really. I mean, I'm really empathetic when it comes to movies, and I can't watch Mr.Bean films because of second-hand embarrassment, but my fear of confrontation extends to the shows and movies I watch. I often stop watching shows (Game of Thrones, Shameless, to name a few) because they are too "dramatic" and I get easily attached to characters and seeing them go through bad ...

I like to think I'm pretty good at rejecting stereotypes. If there's something I hate more than boxes, its being stuffed into one. My family is used to this already, as my sister Jessica always adds to her sentences for me [for example: "When you get married Rebecca, not saying you   have   to get married or have kids but   IF   you get married... (etc.)] I dislike stereotypes a lot, yes, but ones I specifically hate are gender stereotypes. The idea that just because I'm a girl I need to like to wear make up and want a family and enjoy dancing around in dresses and watching Sex and the City. Or that just because you're a guy you're not allowed to cry, or be sensitive, or enjoy TV-shows that aren't about trucks or boxing. Really, gender stereotypes are tiring. There's no gender police out there, who gives a shit whether or not I wear a dress to my graduation? Whose business is it really? This is something I find hard to understand too, how someo...

Hi everyone! Today I was at a seminar held in honor of Ahtisaari Days (Named after the former president of Finland Martti Ahtisaari who also won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 for his outstanding work in international peacekeeping). It was called "New Dynamics in Politics and Business". (If you're Finnish you might have heard about it on the news) I know that you're most likely bored by now, but I'd like to share my experiences and thoughts, even if just to look at them later myself. So, we (me and a few classmates, all history students) arrived at the seminar, the invitation specifies it is a high-level seminar, somewhat fancily dressed and not really sure what to expect. I googled the main speakers on the way there, so I would know some years and a few facts about the speakers. Something to give me a little bit of a base to compare to when I hear what the speakers have to say. After the fancy coffee, we move into the theater-area to be seated ready for the f...

I'm angry a lot. Not at everything (yet). But a lot of things. One of these things is girls who say shit like "I'm not a feminist." [If the word feminist makes you cringe and shiver I advise you to leave now] Really now? Equal rights, not your thing? I'm fine with you ceasing to vote really. Cover up your ankles though, and don't go to school, its for boys. Before talking about why girls might say they aren't feminists, I'm gonna start with explaining why I'm a feminist. I'm a feminist, because I'm sick of hearing stories of girls being sexualized at school. Teachers concentrating more on what girls are wearing than on teaching boys not to assault them. Boohoo, little Timmy can't concentrate in class because Anna is wearing shorts. Maybe Timmy should get a grip on his life. I'm a feminist because I believe that the victim of rape is never the guilty party. Because I'm tired of hearing "she should have worn a longer sk...

Hi. I really like movies. When I first meet someone new, and have to arrange a meeting, I usually ask if we could go to the movies. There's nothing more personal than seeing something so emotionally provoking together and then going through the after shocks/feelings together, discussing the movie and our opinions on it. I love hearing what other people think of movies I've watched, though only if the opinions are positive. I know I know, constructive criticism and all. But really, if I'm super happy about a movie, it does me no good to ask someone about it and then they piss all over my parade. That's no fun. Getting hyped about movies is something I do very well. At least in my own mind. The usual cycle of my excitement goes as follows: I hear about a movie through Tumblr, then wait around for the trailer while fawning over promotional images. When the trailer arrives I watch it,  once or twice or ten times, then go back to Tumblr and reblog every frame and scene a...

Ayy whats up. Today I'm writing about something that most of us have definitely been in contact with. That is, the pressure of being in a relationship (or pressure of not being in one). I know that depending on the person and the home they've grown in, your view of relationships can be very different. Christian homes generally raise kids that focus on finding one person to spend the rest of their life with. Often these kids get engaged at a young age, having found their partner in life at a local church or youth meeting. That's perfectly fine, good for you. (I will have you know this is a very generalized view based on the amounts of people like this I have seen going this route). Kids from "normal" homes have the same view on dating as the rest of the world, I'd think. You look around, date a person/bunch of people and when you find the one you want to spend the rest of your life with you (maybe) marry them. This is all fine and great and I'm in no plac...

I took my rings off and everything to start writing this, like I'm some damn professional or something. This isn't getting to my head yet, this blog business, if that's what you think. I thought that today I'd write about music, if this blog is to be a catalogue of my opinions on everything. Its really difficult for me to understand why music makes me feel so much. I was cutting out halloween decorations with my friend the other day, and I put on a playlist on 8tracks (amazing playlist website +app, go use it now) that was tagged with "Lord of the Rings". I put on the list and as soon as the first song started playing I felt like I was back watching the movies. The heartbreaking parts and the happy parts and everything muddy in between, it made me so emotional listening to the soundtrack. No, I wasn't crying, I'm not that much of a nerd. But honestly, it made me yearn to see the movies again. Movie soundtracks are amazing, and motivating. But what ...

I don't know if you know this, but I read a lot. I read a lot (past tense). Fantasy, young adult, classic. All kinds of literature. And I don't really see how something can be more valuable that the other. People go around speaking of classic literature. J.D. Salinger, Charles Dickens, some other smart white dude. I know that these authors are respected and that their works are considered classics because they are good. They are well written and have gained merits over the years that allow for them to be inserted into the educations of people all around the world. If I'm reading a classic book I feel like holding it out for everyone to see. That I'm smart, educated. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed 1984 by George Orwell. But I didn't have to explain myself to anyone while reading it. But when I'm reading a piece of so called "young adult literature" (mostly aimed at girls of 13-17), I feel the need to constantly explain myself . I found my...

My dad asked me the other week what are some things I fear. My answer contained a lot of things, but one main one, that had also been a source of anxiety for both of my parents, was my future. I'm 18, doing my last year in high school and I need to be applying for universities soon. Like, by the 15th of January soon. I know my talents. At least I think I do. I can talk, write, make (sometimes) funny youtube videos, sew questionable costumes for conventions concerning popular culture, be loud and annoying. The list goes on. The problem here is, that I don't know which talents to pursue. My father has told me that he believes my talents lie in communications, that sewing and costume producing isn't really my best choice. A part of me wants to believe him, and a part of me questions how he knows me better than I know myself. Is that even possible? My current choices for universities have one thing in common. They are all outside of Finland. To me, the worst case scenario w...

I know a lot of people will look at the link on my Facebook page leading to this blog, and this blog, like I'm some special snowflake teenager craving for attention. I certainly don't think of myself as "quirky" and "special" and "not like other girls" because those are harmful ways of thinking, but I can't confirm or deny the craving for attention bit. All I know is that my parents (especially my father) have been telling me for the past three weeks that I'm "good at communication" and writing apparently is one way of doing this. I know there aren't many who read my (sometimes pointless) Facebook rants about bicycles and gender equality and proper movie going etiquette, so I doubt many of you will be at all interested in what I have to say about anything really. But I'm going to try and write things here anyway, if only to look back at them in a year and laugh at myself and at how little I knew of my future and the worl...