This story started on a small farm in the interior of
the city of São Lourenço D’ Oeste, in Brazil. On this farm lived a family, and
the youngest daughter that was 9 years old wanted to live alone and to be
independent. She had one brother and one sister.
One day, this girl thought that to live with her
parents wasn’t good, and then she decided to go away to another place. She didn`t know where, but she wanted to try. Then, the
girl picked up some things like clothes and shoes, put them in a bag and left. She
also took the clothes that her godmother had made for her. Her mother saw, but
she didn’t say anything. The girl thought that she knew what was best for her. The
girl walked for some hours aimlessly, she was hungry and thirsty, but she didn’t have any food or drink.
Furthermore, the weather was getting dark, the wind very cold and she heard
some strange noises on the way. She didn’t see anybody she could ask for help.
She was really scared and frightened. So she stopped and thought: “Why am I doing
it?” and “Where am I going?” Then she remembered her mother
and started to cry. In this moment, she reflected on this and decided to come back to her house, her
family. Her mother was waiting for her at the door. When the mom saw her
daughter she said: “I knew that you would come back.” The mom smiled and hugged her daughter. The
girl also was kissed by her father. The mother made a delicious meal for them, especially
her favorite food, risotto. Really the smell was wonderful and the girl was
very glad. When she saw her whole family around her, she felt much loved by
them.
Meanwhile, the girl was thinking about the events of
the day and how it was good to be with her family.
So, she learned that is very important to live with
her family and to be protected by them, moreover respect for the family is essential.
This story is very interesting and important because it
repeats over the years. When she was 11 years old, she went to live with her godparents,
away from her parents. Then in that moment she realized that living away from her
family was very difficult. She missed her family, her house and her friends.
She was just a girl! But she got over it and lived for ten years with her godparents
in the city. During this time, she worked and studied. Meantime, she gained a second family, a special family! She believes that time was essential for her to gain
knowledge and life experience.
After this time, when she was 20 years old, she went
to Florianopolis, because she joined the faculty at the Federal University of
Santa Catarina. During college time she studied
and worked in the hospital.
In Florianopolis, when she finished her faculty, soon
after, she started to work as a nurse. She has been working as a nurse for 6
years, in the University Hospital, and for the City of Florianopolis she has worked
for 5 years. She has been living in Florianopolis for 11 years, and again she
is living away from her family, but now too far, around 7 hours by car. The
girl really likes this city. She has
worked hard and she feels accomplished in her projects.
Then, during her work in Brazil, she had the
opportunity to enter in the Humphrey Fellow Program. She felt fear and insecurity
due to the foreign tongue and also because she had never traveled to another
country, but
she decided
to face the challenge and overcome her fears. She knew that again she would stay away
from her family, only this time in another country, in the United States, much
further from her country and her family. She did not know why, but something
told her that she would meet amazing people in her “new country.”
So, she understands all of this, such as personal development
and life experience. She learned a lot over these experiences, difficulties and
opportunities.
In fact, something told her that she could grow
personally and professionally and become a good person and a good professional.
She learned that from an early age she knew what she
wanted for her life and that she would face many difficulties to get here
today.
But all that effort was worth it, because she is very
happy and she knows her family and friends are also, and here, definitely there
are many amazing people.
If you want to know the end of this story, please ask me!
