This photo could have been taken yesterday — or 33 years ago ⏳. That’s when this house in Monterey, California, became my home for six months, a period that in many ways made me who I am today. 

In 1993 I studied a semester at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Already at that time, California was an inspiration to the world in many ways, so I felt I was at the right place at the right time. 

Looking back, three things stand out from my six months in Monterey:

🌱 I became confident I could build a life in another country. Until then, I wasn’t sure I could thrive outside my home country.

🌱 My interaction skills improved, and it was not just about learning to speak English with more ease than before. For example, many people in my my native Finland are not used to giving casual compliments to others. Hence, learning to say a simple ”thank you” after receiving a compliment was a revelation to me. 

In Europe, Americans are sometimes perceived as superficial, but my experience is they simply tend to have the skill to interact with people in a friendly way, often more so than in many other countries. 

🌱 I met someone who helped me grow as a person. We didn’t last, but my belief that I could one day find the right match did.  

We are defined by the choices we make that others don’t. Every ”road less traveled” becomes a chapter in our life’s story. 

For example: 

📍 My high school didn’t require me to study Spanish and to spend a year in Caracas, Venezuela, as an exchange student, but I did.

📍 My exchange student organization didn’t require me to visit the Soviet Union for two weeks in 1988, but I jumped at the opportunity to travel to Mariupol in what was then Soviet Ukraine. I stayed with a host family and got to know the locals.

📍 My business school curriculum didn’t require me to study a semester abroad in 1993, but I decided to go. 

📍 January last year, I took another trip to California to get together with family I hadn’t seen in quite a while. Another important motive was to be there to witness a historical breaking point for the US and for the world. I wanted to be there during the last days of the America I had come to know and to feel the looming change. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t make that trip.

In 1993 my room was behind the upper right-hand window in the photo. In the mornings, I woke up to the sea lions at the nearby Monterey harbor. Writing this now, I can still hear them.

I believe that, in addition to the place where we grew up, we all have at least one place in the world that forms a part of our heart and soul. ❤️

What’s the one choice — and the one place — that has shaped you more than you expected? 💡