After school I applied to the political science department and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki. My goal, however, was to study history. I had an excellent history teacher at school, who had a great sense of humour. He taught me to think about things from different perspectives.

The first years of school were full of the classic euphoric freedom and an enthusiasm for learning. It is a stage of life we go through, and there’s no going back to it, but it made me more sociable. I made friends who I am still close with. Then there were a few legendary teachers I’m happy to chat with when I bump into them on the street.

One of the most memorable things was the wonderful Anto Leikola’s seminar course. In that class everyone had to write an essay on a book. These became the subjects for great debates. Leikola had quite an aura and was a great teacher. That course taught me how to give and take criticism, and how to discuss broad topics without being narrow-minded.

The other memorable moment was our department’s Vienna-Prague-Budapest study trip in the late summer of 1989. It was not only a hugely enjoyable journey in itself, but there was something in the air. For example, the streets of Budapest were full of Trabants, whose drivers were desperate to get out of the DDR.