Travelling Thoughts

I have them, you have them, we all have them—dreams. Fulfilling them doesn’t have to be something from a video game: fast and constant, but they can be, and maybe should be, a process that can take years. Because…

Flying Away

One of the first proper dreams I remember having started on, possibly, 4th grade at school, back in 1985, when some classmate’s Mum came to tell us about her profession. She was a flight stewardess at Finnair, the Finnish Airlines. From that day on I wanted to become part of the Cabin Crew. It wasn’t a conscious choice, but more of clarity that I want to be that one day.

Just like in many adventure video games, there were multiple steps to do before I finally, in 2004, gained my wings.

It dedinitely wasn’t straight forward path; due to poor eyesight, I had my eyes lasered, I quit my nursing career for a promise of a contract with Ryanair without a start date, and even turned down an opportunity to be in a team of screenwriters for a TV show.

Instead I packed my bags and moved to the UK to fly with Ryanair, leaving my boyfriend in Finland. Needless to say, long-distance relationship made him my ex quite fast.

Finding My Quill

Whilst I was on the quest to become a Cabin Crew, I had another dream. It was something that had followed me from the high school times. Those times when I tried to write down my hopes and dreams on paper, hoping it would somehow make the anxiousness better.

The dream? Publishing a book, and becoming an author like my idol—Stephen King. Of course I wanted to do it for fame and riches as well. But as the years went by, I realised that as nice as money would be, the most important aspect of the whole journey to become an author has been the realisation that I didn’t need to do it to seek validation, but to prove to myself that I can do it.

The longest story I wrote in high school? I still have it, printed out on an old dot-matrix printer that made a lot of noise—and I dread to open the folder as it is… crap poorly written. At some point I thought of revisiting it and revamping it, but… maybe not. Some things might just be better left in the boxes at the attic where they belong.

Using My Voice

Back in my teens, I was afraid I was the only gay in the village. Back then there was no Internet, and as it was the age of AIDS epidemic, or the latter part of it, homosexuality was more or less marginalised and labelled as totally corrupted, sinful behaviour that have gotten the divine wrath on them.

For me it was years of self-dislike (not hate), World of Darkness roleplaying game scenarios where all my characters happened to be outcasts and… gay, and writing short stories that I wanted to show to people, but never did. Finally, on the last day of high school I finally came to a realisation that I am what I am, and being gay is not something that I chose to be one day. That led me to become something of an activist.

It might not have been exactly a dream to be gay, and in 2026 it feels less and less like one, as the world is stepping backwards with the attitudes and legislation again. The little activist that I became when I was still young, is raising his head again, even after I thought I would have learned all there was to that aspect of me. What it taught me that there are times when you just have to make a stand for yourself, or for those who need defending. It won’t be easy, but once you do it, you definitely learn how strong you are.

And I am afraid, genuinely afraid, that this strength will be tested again in the mad, modern world.

So?

Dreams are important. When you have them, you have something to strive for. When the times are bad, dreams can inspire you and make a bleak day brighter. Your dreams can even inspire someone else! Which is exactly why there is Poodlies @ Etsy – a shop dedicated to our travels, hopefully to inspire your dreams of travelling the globe.

Cliché much? Might sound like it, but many times it actually works.

Our next dream? A relocation away from Finland, and I will definitely be posting about it.