47 Things I Learned This Year

I turn 47 today. Here are 47 things I learned this year on people, places, art, socks, grief, food, and California.

Jul 30, 2024

In 2020, I wrote a list of lessons on Facebook on my birthday. It had as many lessons from the past year as the number of years I had been around. I made this a tradition. I turn 47 today. Here are 47 things I learned 30 July 2023 - 30 July 2024.

Some artists whose work I fell in love with this year: Xan Padrón, Alberto Giacometti, Wanda Koop, Heather Nicol, Ragnar Kjartansson.
Heather Nicol´s Wind Ensemble in Toronto.
I went from being an employee to starting my own company. During my six months of entrepreneurship, my greatest professional successes have resulted from admitting I don’t know, acknowleding that this is not supposed to be easy, that living together in society is kind of messy but echoing and framing people’s experience. Sort of like here with library leaders.
This talk in Edmonton in September 2023 led to one of my biggest projects: how to incorporate the idea of convivencia into the work of Edmonton Public Library.
My husband and I have tried to increase variation to our “tacos, pasta, or salad” dinner routine. Trader Joe’s gyozas are a new favorite: tasty one-pan meal that is ready in 15 minutes.
As Jonathan Haidt writes, we have overregulated physical space and underregulated digital space for children. We need tougher regulation on social media platforms.
I moved to Los Angeles in February. Over 13 million people call LA County home. My favorite author on LA this year was Rosecrans Baldwin. Baldwin argues in his brilliant book Everything Now (recommended by David) that you understand LA better if you think of it as a city-state rather than a city. He writes:“Los Angeles probably has no single unifying dream besides the straightforward desire to be loved or not to die in an earthquake - or perhaps not to feel so alone in the vastness of the immense slouching shapelessness.”
The growth of California is in many ways a demonstration of what the government can do. While a popular Californian narrative is one of self-reliance, Joan Didion pointed out in Where I Was From that the California as we understand it now was enabled largely by public, federal investments into infrastructure and defense.
This year, I have had the opportunity to work with four brilliant students: Sebastián and Qiqin at Johns Hopkins University and now with Emmanuella and Sophia, two brilliant undergraduates from UNC Charlotte on a project in Charlotte. You should always have people younger than you in the team. They have challenged me and helped me see what is relevant and how it is to be young right now. Future’s bright.
Sophia Gerz-Escandón and Emmanuella Assem with President Brian Collier of The Gambrell Foundation, which funds our project on hobbies in Charlotte,
When we feel today is hard and tomorrow is unclear, nostalgia is very tempting. But when we look at the past, we have to be critical on whose lens we use when comparing to the past. An example: Andrew Pettegree and Arthus der Weduwen write in The Library: A Fragile History that the idea that libraries are for everyone is a modern idea. Even during the short history of public libraries (150-200 years), we have had fierce battles whether women, the working classes, non-white people or children would end up destroying the library.
I need to actively set boundaries for my phone. Even when I have had all notifications off, still the presence of my phone is harming my ability to sleep and focus. This is not made easier by the fact that most of my social connections were on the other side of the planet or continent.
Los Angeles is magical. Here are some of my favorite places from the last year: LA Recommendations · Tommi
I will keep coming out in talks and professional projects even if at times it feels uncomfortable or excessive. Nearly every time someone has sent a message or come to say thank you. I mentioned being the first openly gay leader in Helsinki’s executive team in my bio when I was recruiting students to work with me. Half of the interviewees mentioned it in our first conversation as an encouraging thing.
Faith plays a big role in the American society. I don’t know enough about it. I need a deeper understanding of faith as a source of resilience and community. I want to have more meaningful conversations with believers.
Kebab is called donair in Canada.
Surviving American taxation requires blind trust in your accountant.
This year, I visited Canada five times in four different cities. I love working in Canada. I meet kindness, humility, punctuality and people committed to doing the work.
I am doing a project on hobbies in Charlotte. A local youth professional said that young people are on to us adults. They know that hard work alone is not how you make it in today’s economy. That makes adults lose credibility.
Every profession has their own lingo. Space animation at the library has nothing to do with planets and stars. It is what institutions, like libraries, do to activate public spaces.
Space animation in Edmonton Public Library.
We need better arguments for the role of the arts in democracy. Here’s mine: for people to be willing to do the hard work of living together and negotiating space with strangers, public spaces need to provide something more than transactional benefits. They need to provide wonder, joy, play, and belonging. Art is the most powerful medium I know. Case in point, Refik Anadol’s public art at the community basketball court at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
The best thing in Finland you can do to an American is inviting them to your home. Don’t be alarmed if they seem nervous.
Finland: WC
USA: Restroom
Canada: Washroom
When you need to fundraise for it in Los Angeles: tinkletorium
Hang out with people who don’t hoard contacts. People who say:”You should meet… you would LOVE them.” People like Sandra Kulli in Los Angeles, Carol Coletta in Memphis, Robyn Bennett in Berlin and everywhere, and Matt Olin, Ricky Singh and Brian Collier in Charlotte.
With Sandra Kulli, the best connector in Los Angeles, at the preview of the Intuit Dome’s public art, speaking to artist Refik Anadol.
Toggl is a fantastic tool to keep track on how much time you spend on projects. Nearly everything takes longer than you planned.
Best socks to wear inside loafers during the summer can be found from the women’s section and are made from pantihose material. Not pretty but really handy.
There are limits to what a (middle-aged) body can cope with. In January 2024, two years of intense travel led to a nearly complete physical collapse just as I was finishing my fellowship. It took a few months to get back on my feet.
Ask at least three people to read your bio before you send it out. In my case, they encouraged to be bolder and shorter. And there’s nothing wrong with running it through Chat-GPT.
Hummingbirds are becoming some of my favorite creatures. We have a hummingbird feeder in front of my home office window.
‘Safe’ is a problematic word in public policy. Several North American public institutions are actively avoiding it. ‘But is it safe’ is a wrench you throw into a conversation to jam it. ‘Not feeling safe’ is often code for discomfort or not feeling heard. Equally, in a physical space, the fact that you might get a scratch on a jungle gym does not make it unsafe.
There are so many obvious connections between Finland and Canada. Both have most people living in the Southern parts of the country. Both are bilingual. Both have indigenous people. Both have four seasons. Both love hockey. And the list goes on. My goal is to make more Finns/Nordics build connections to Canada.
Speaking of Canada: The most beautiful conversation I eavesdropped this year was in Edmonton during the Stanley Cup finals:
”Are you here by yourself?”
”Uhm, yes.”
”Not anymore.”
I should not assume that people a) know where Finland is or b) know anything about it.
A phrase I had never used before living in the United States: my lawyer. In 2024, have two lawyers.
48 percent of the population of the City of Los Angeles speak Spanish at home. A lot more than most, even Americans, think.
The public space that moved me the most this year: Tom Lee Park in Memphis. It demonstrates how high quality design can make people feel bigger, not smaller.
Image: Memphis River Parks
A dear friend of mine died without warning this year. Grief travels in waves. I have had several moments when I want to reach out and realize it is no longer possible.
The older you get, the more difficult it is to make new friends in new places.
After several failed printing attempts, I learned that Americans do not use the A4 paper size as Europeans. They use letter size. Don’t ask me why.
You can make a friend really happy by sending a helium balloon to their office.
There is a smart way to open a bag of Haribo candy: along the seam.
I have done research on and been funded by philanthropy. Philanthropy can be the leap from good to phenomenal. But to ensure legitimacy, public institutions need to have policies on what should and what should not be paid through philanthropy. The best ways public institutions can benefit from philanthropic fundraising: capital investments, risky innovation, design and programming.
The impact of philanthropic and corporate partnerships can be so much more than money. The best donations turn your donors into your advocates in rooms where people usually do not discuss things like the future of libraries.
My favorite taco is a hard taco filled with potato, lettuce, and salsa.
The terminology around diversity, equity and inclusion is contextual. In engagements with Europeans, I have had to explain what Americans mean with equity. What many in Canada call visible minorities and in the US you call non-white population, in the UK many now call “the global majority”.
When it comes to music, I have stopped my failed two decade attempts to be cool. My go-to music is a mess but I love: Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations (all-time favorite), Trixie Mattel’s Heavy Crown, Yusuf Stevens´Oh Very Young, Orville Peck, Maggie Rogers, and Pariisin Kevät’s Hei mä soitan sulle ihan kohta and Jason Isbell’s Cast Iron Skillet.
Letting go of an idea of youth is hard. Like waking up in the morning, looking into the mirror and realizing that this tired face is the new normal.
A large part of my work is with Europe, which means getting on calls at five in the morning. A desktop ring light was a great investment. Get one that can be adjusted on brightness and temperature.
The Lutheran Church keeps surprising me. This year I was impressed by the work on seeking conviviality as a way to rethink the role of parishes in a multi-faith/secular environment.
There are no limits to what a piece of cake can cost in Southern California.