Jakob // Finland Explorer

Hey hey. My name is Jakob Kujanpaa. I'm a pretty simple guy! I love almost anything active and almost anything outside. I'm 23 years old and I'll be a sophomore at UVU this fall studying psychology and business. I was born in Illinois and grew up in Utah. My father was born and raised in Finland, which is why I'm the ambassador for the one of the most beautiful countries in the world, the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, Finland.

One of my main goals in life is to be able to travel around the world and help those that are less fortunate than me find happiness in the simple things of life.

The reason I am happy, is because I choose to be. Yes I have been blessed with a great life, amazing family, and incredible friends. However, throughout high school I went through phases of depression. I didn't always realize when I was depressed, but the times that I did recognize it I didn't want to tell anyone, and keeping it to myself didn't help. The only things that would make me happy we're playing soccer or ice hockey. Those were things that I loved to do, because they put me in a good mood.

 I now know that not only did I become happy because I was doing something that I love, but by being active and exercising my body I was stimulating my brain and it would shoot off positive endorphins throughout my body.

I believe in being active and I believe in being outdoors. We have this beautiful world, let's go explore it and find the happiness that it has to offer us. A good breath of fresh air and a walk in the park can go a long way.

 I love Pangea. "Happiness is not just a mood, it's a work ethic." Shawn Achor