The ultimate goal of a person’s life is to be happy either alone or with someone else so when the media started reporting about the happiest country in the world it tickled my brain because as I see it with exposure of media and society’s perception has made smiling face symbol as well as goal of life. Happiness is such a subjective word that it has to be described with the perspective of each individual so when you say the population of five million people are happy what does it mean.
When I moved to Italy I got to know that I had a little time in between my classes and the first thing I did is to fly to Helsinki to meet my brother. I immediately started to compare it with Italy as I lived here for thirteen days and the association with Italy which felt like a second home. When I landed there I could only spot very few people in and outside of the airport, it was very astonishing for me as I was accustomed to watching people everywhere. I got my pre-experience about the country for years from my brother as he is the permanent resident there now. He always described the lives of people as quietly working to earn and spending their free time with their families. I went to Helsinki three times in six months and spent almost two months there in total so I started to pick different things in each visit. My first time in Helsinki revolved around talking to my brother’s friends and strangers in super markets which I found pleasant. It was a very surreal experience as I was stepping into my brother’s life which I only knew through our conversations but I thought their hospitality quite welcoming. I got to know the lifestyle of theirs and how they are quite set in their ways. They are family oriented people and like to spend more time at home. The government also provided them back with the sense of security for their future and their families. My second time I went there I started noticing little traits of residents like they didn’t like to talk to each other even inside metro there is pin drop silence contrary to Italy where you can’t hear your own voice and one time we also experienced people complaining if we made noise in the building after 9 o’clock. I found that to be very peculiar but my brother explained that it’s their right to call the police if we don’t stop. As I got more familiar with the resident around my age I found them quite unhappy. I thought to myself what kind of happiness this is.
I understood from that point on that this county is only focussing on families who are choosing a routine and according to the rules set by it. People found it hard to talk about uncomfortable situations away from the rules like the fact that how much youth is depressed there. So early on they try to make a life they want by getting out. This is a very good example of a socialist society where government and people work together but in reality it does not make sense for a sustainable future because youth is the major part of building the economy and wellbeing of any country.
