A failure or an asset?
A few days ago, I saw an article online with the headline called
‘’Juuso, 19, does not want to do anything.’’
It grabbed my attention as I wanted to know how media colors these kind of stories.
Soon I found out that Juuso had just graduated from vocational school (hotel and restaurant business), and decided to take a few years off. The article was stressed on how young adults are drifting from the society. How they become a burden for others and are costing a lot of money. They told how, Juuso had chosen his life. He wanted to concentrate on music and skateboarding, instead of studying more or applying for jobs. He was coming from a small town, where it was quite hard to find a job he had an interest in. He wasn’t ready to move out yet either. So he decided to stay in and ‘’do nothing’’.
In any other country, Juuso might have had couple of good months playing around and skateboarding, until he had came to realize his financial situation. He would have have to go on and find a job he does not like or otherwise change his lifestyle dramatically.
But not as a Finnish citizen.
The Finnish social system is quite advanced compared to some of the world. We have free healthcare, free schooling system all the way to the university, start-up grants, maternity allowance, free student and unemployment support (just to name a few), which are all paid by taxes. So when Juuso is not able to find work, or does not work hard enough to find one, he is going to live just fine with the government support.
When Finns read an article like this, they certainly assume that Juuso’s new skateboards and music albums are paid from their pocket, and that is something which flips their lids fully. How unfair is that, they have to work while others can play with skateboards and ‘’do nothing’’.
They have chosen a life unsatisfactory, while others have chosen other. Isn’t it just a matter of choice?
In people’s eyes it’s ‘’doing nothing’’ if you are not working in a 40 hours a week and getting paid a fixed salary on your account once a month. We need to do something not so satisfying, in order to enable and create the life that satisfies us. It is part of life to work, even though the work is not what we want.
It does not make sense to me.
Why to get an education just for the sake of it? Why work in a job just to get money?
I get this quite often too. How can I survive? Where do I get money? What am I doing all day long, as I am not working for somebody else? Am I lazy? Am I un-respectful? How can I do it?
It is easy. I am living the life that satisfies me and which I can afford. I travel by bike and bus, I do not own my own house, I buy my clothes from flea market, I find the cheapest places to live, I cook my own meals, I use nature for exercising and boyfriend for massage, I only buy necessities. I am earning my own money without government support, just because I haven’t felt the need for more. I am not living over my budget.
All that, gives me the freedom to use my energy wisely. To use it in the field I find most interesting. Where I am able to learn and grow into the direction I want. It is my own choice.
It is up to us to decide which direction we are heading.
What are you willing to sacrifice? What is your direction?