The Finns are commonly thought to be shy, distant and taciturned. This can apply to some extent, but not nearly for everyone. Like people overall, the Finns are very different too when their personalities are compared. However, there is an interesting comic by a Finnish cartoonist named Karoliina Korhonen. The comic shows us “Matti”, a typical Finn who is afraid of social situations and feels himself uneased around other people.
In the comic there are multiple different situations where the Finns typically feel the same. There’s a scene where the main character “Matti” gets into a bus which is “full”, meaning there’s one person sitting on a two-benched seats each.
Then there is a situation where “Matti” is in the store a day or two days before the national Finnish holiday, let’s say Midsummer. “Matti” feels very nervous, because there are so many people running around in the store for supplies. I think this comic is a humorous way to describe the Finnish people’s emotions and nature around other people and how they would typically act in social events or situations.
As a Finn, I see my culture unique and I have noted the perseverance in the people populating this country. The Finnish nature can be harsh and sometimes even cruel, but so are its people sometimes because they’ve seen so much right and wrong, good and bad throughout their lives and they’ve needed to endure a lot in order to success. I hope the best for our future as a nation and I trust its people.
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