Iida Pilli-Sihvola

People have an innate need to belong to something, to be a part of a community and to feel good about it. There is a  lot of theoretical
information on the subject, but let’s look at it through my experience.

I have always been a very social person and I´ve had the need to get to be on display, as well as influence matters around me. I remember rebelling against systems in elementary school and even in high school until I found communities where my social needs were met.

The first place where I immediately found my place in the community and enjoyed my studies was high school. As soon as I started, I joined the high schools student union, where I spent the whole three years. It was also the first school where I didn’t feel a sense of being an outsider at all. In the high schools student union, I was able to develop activities and implement my ideas, which greatly improved my social well-being. The extra rebellion was forgotten and my studies went better when I felt accepted both in my group and in the student union.

From high school, I went straight to UAS studies and continued the well-established line. I started active activities immediately after the first semester in a local association, where I happened to work for two years. In two years, I met students in different fields that I would not have met through any other way, these people are still around me. I decided to apply to Student Union Kaakko for more challenges and to get to know more people like me from other Xamk campuses as well as nationwide.

Sometimes the well-being in this work is put to test, which is why the functioning of these communities is really important. Communities don´t work automatically and sometimes they need a lot of work to be functional. However, the most important thing is that every community member has the feeling that has been approved as himself as a part of the community.

We have formed in our board a really great and tight community, where everyone can freely tell their opinions without getting judged. Functional communities are of great importance to a person’s mental, social and even physical well-being. Hopefully, you’ve also found yourself in communities where you feel good and through it have even made lifelong friends.