Social media influencer Anna from Glitter and Lazers traveled to Finland for what was advertised as a “Master Class of Happiness” retreat. However, the experience revealed unexpected challenges related to her size.
The content creator, who weighs approximately 500 lbs (227 kg), documented her journey to a Finnish wellness resort, where she encountered seating difficulties that became a focal point of her emotional journey.
The trip began with travel complications when Anna failed to book an extra seat on her flight despite knowing the plane was full. She acknowledged this was a calculated risk that didn’t pay off, resulting in her missing the initial flight.
After finally arriving in Helsinki, she faced a five-hour bus ride to the resort in Kuru, which left her physically exhausted before the program even began.
Throughout the week-long retreat, Anna participated in various activities including forest hiking, yoga in nature, sheep farming education, and traditional Finnish cooking workshops. However, she quietly dealt with a persistent problem: the dining chairs at the main table were too small for her to use comfortably.
Rather than speak up, she chose to sit alone at a side table for every meal throughout the week.
The situation came to an emotional head during a cooking session led by a Michelin-trained chef. When Anna proudly presented her handmade tarts and asked for honest feedback, the chef’s blunt European-style response that they were “terrible” sent her into tears. This moment triggered a deeper realization as she sat at her usual isolated table, watching the other participants gather around the main dining area.
Anna made a connection between her rejected tarts and her own self-imposed separation from the group. She recognized that just as her poorly made tarts couldn’t be displayed on the main table, she hadn’t been sitting at that table either due to the chair limitations. The parallel struck her as profoundly symbolic.
When other retreat participants finally noticed her sitting apart and asked why she didn’t join them, Anna admitted she couldn’t fit in the chairs.
Anna said in her video: “I just looked at them right in the eye and I said I can’t fit in those chairs. So I sit over here because it’s comfortable for me.”
Their immediate response was supportive, with several people expressing they would have accommodated her needs had they known.
Anna recalled: “And as I said that five people swiveled their heads around. And they looked at me directly in the eye, and they’re like, ‘Why didn’t you tell us? We would have come and sat with you. We would have made it work. We thought you didn’t want to sit with us.'”
The retreat included sessions on Finnish cultural values, including concepts of trust, the idea of “enough,” and the relationship between profound happiness and sadness. The trip led Anna to conclude that her main issue was failing to communicate her needs to others.
In her reflection on the experience, Anna framed the lesson as learning to express her requirements without feeling like a burden. She acknowledged experiencing physical pain during the trip but not speaking up about it, choosing instead to be in an unfortunate situation rather than ask for help or accommodations.
By the end of the week, Anna declared the trip had profoundly changed her perspective on travel and personal growth. She announced plans to seek out more experiences that make her uncomfortable, believing discomfort leads to personal development. However, her primary focus remained on learning to voice her needs rather than addressing the physical limitations that necessitated those accommodations in the first place.
