I was raised in Southeastern Brazil in the late 90s, the only daughter of two college students in their twenties. At that point in their lives they had little money of their own, but my grandparents and great uncle helped support us. They provided me with a private education, a privilege few can afford in Brazil. My school was far from perfect, but it was well-equipped and the teachers showed up consistently, so I was still better off than the kids across the street who went to a public school lacking basic necessities.
In my formative years, I found my home environment more stimulating than my school environment, and I believe that was mostly because of my parents’ unique personalities and interests. Just before they had me, they had to
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It made for a very unusual and turbulent childhood, but I was lucky enough to never doubt I had the love and support of my family.
I did learn a lot from textbooks, and there were certainly a few teachers along the way who inspired me and helped me understand new concepts. But it was my parents who made me want to investigate, taught me how to look at the world with a critical eye and form conclusions. It was in trying to keep up with them that I found myself rushing toward developmental milestones like learning to read, learning a second language, forming opinions of my own.
For the last few years I’ve been facing the same choice my parents had to make before they went to college, whether to prioritize passion or independence, whether to be pragmatic or romantic. Instead of going one way or the other, I have tried to find a balance between the two. I’ve taken advantage of the bilingualism they taught me and gotten an interpreting certificate, which gives me access to part-time job opportunities. I also asked my grandparents to sponsor a three-month stay in Tokyo so I could take an intensive Japanese language course. I had no practical objective in mind when I did this, I was pursuing my passion, but it turned out to be the best experience of my life so