I started my studies in folkloristics at the University of Helsinki in 1989, when the subject was still called Finnish and comparative folk poetry studies. I was very thrilled about the winds of change in the field at the beginning of the 1990’s and had somewhat of an awakening when I read American cognitive anthropologists.

I feel a little horrified to say that I began to develop an academic interest in the topic of my doctoral research, the Finnish relationship, very early on. For this I ought to thank the late Leea Virtanen, who was professor at that time.

I also remember how exciting it was to participate in the birth of women’s studies as a subject. It was clearly an experience, which shaped my attitude toward life and all of my research work. To be a completely over-the-top humanist, I also studied religious studies – a wonderful and only very slightly practical combination in the business world. However, thanks to these subjects I am able to understand people’s diverse conceptions and ways of communicating. This is a continuous merit in sales work and in the developing marketing field. Good common knowledge is also useful in the business world.

As I worked as a stage performer for practically all of my student life, studying was at times more of a hobby for me. I had my own work and friend groups outside of the university, and I was a bit of an outside member compared to the active core of our subject.

It was only when I was working on my doctoral dissertation and was accepted in the Graduate School of Cultural Interpretations at the beginning of the 2000’s that I began to feel a sense of collegial togetherness with others like me, which I found rather pleasant. At the same time I also realised that only a small part of us would find their place in the university world, especially in such a small field as mine.

Finishing my doctoral dissertation was at times a dramatic and nearly a tragic process. The thesis was rejected on the first round of examination, and I decided I would abandon the entire project because it came as a complete surprise and felt very unfair.

My faith in the academic world was becoming very shaky, but after a couple of years of pondering I decided to have my dissertation re-examined, and was more successful this time. My dissertation Nainen, mies, rakkaus, seksi: Heterosuhteen kulku, kulttuurinen malli ja sitä selittävät diskurssit kahden omaelämäkerta-aineiston valossa (‘Woman, man, love, sex: The course, cultural model and discourse of the heterosexual relationship in light of two autobiographical data sources’) was examined at the University of Helsinki in January 2011.

At this point I had already worked in the business world for a couple of years, and I didn’t imagine for a second that I would return to the university, but I am nevertheless proud of my achievement – and of my research even though it was never continued.