Hi.
What’s up?
For me, a lot of things. So I’m writing this update about what’s ahead for me and how that’s going to affect what I do here.
First, the biggest new is I’m moving to the Netherlands to do a MA in Media Studies, majoring in Social Media and Society at the Rijksuniversiteit in Groningen. This is huge news for me, as I’ve been struggling to keep up my motivation for my current studies for years, and also dreamed about studying abroad for a good while. I’m super excited about the major I’m going to have and I’m sure it will definitely give me more motivation to study. I’m also thrilled to move to a new country that I’ve only visited once and to see all the challenges a new place brings.
Next big news is that in addition to my master’s program in Groningen, I will be doing a master’s in Communication for Development at the university of Malmö in Sweden. As it’s quite hard to be in two places at the same time, I’ll do the courses to Malmö part-time and mostly online. I’ll hopefully have the occasion to go to Malmö from time to time though, and maybe even live there for a while at some point. This is also super exciting as it fits really well with the other program I’m studying and broadens my area of expertise in communications.
So what about my French master’s program in Helsinki? Well, it will probably be on hold for a while. I’m not saying I’ll never finish it, because in my last year of bachelor’s I actually got pretty excited about language and linguistics studies and could imagine finishing this program. But as you can imagine, moving to a new place and pursuing two master’s at the same time, having a social life and maybe even some hobbies, it’s pretty hard to add one more program to that equation. I might complete individual courses in the next two years if I have time and motivation, but I will probably get back to this only after finishing the program I’m enrolled in now.
These changes will obviously also affect my blog, but I think it will be only in a good way. My content has been pretty travel-focused in the last months, and I want to keep it so, at least partly. Lately I’ve had a lot of time to travel, which I won’t have as much of in autumn. But then again, moving to a new place is also in itself a travel experience worth sharing. Also, as these things become more central in my life, I want to focus on studying and university more on here as well. I have been traveling and doing tons of different things while studying in the last three years already, and I want to share how it is possible to keep life interesting and pursue personal projects while studying at the same time. So in the next few months, you will most probably still see similar travel content that you’ve seen throughout the spring, but also more about moving to the Netherlands and uni life. I’ve been really inspired to create content lately though, so hopefully my schedule next fall won’t keep me from creating new things. But before starting my studies, I still have a few trips planned that you will for sure hear about…
I already have a few ideas of topics that I want to share my thoughts on on this blog and on social media, but I would absolutely love getting ideas from YOU about topics. Drop me a comment here or a PM on Instagram ❤ Other than that, tips about moving abroad are more than welcome as well!
Photo by the talented Maija Huitu
Ellimaija 