𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗚𝗥 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮 (𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗿) 𝟬𝟬

𝟭 𝗲𝗴𝗴

𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁

𝗠𝗶𝘅 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗮 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀.

𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟯𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

I was two and a half years old when my parents moved our family to Africa. I can't fully recall how my life was at the time, given the fact I was so young, yet there are a bunch of photographs of me interacting with animals or visiting zoos.

After a year, we returned to Brazil, but our stay was brief. When I was four, we moved to Cuba. As one might expect, as a consequence of Cuba being an island country, the sea became my constant companion. It was mainly there where I developed my deep love for the ocean. I would often travel to the islands surrounding the country and go for a daily swim at the beach my condominium owned.

In Cuba, I made many friends, many of whom I still talk to this day. Language was not a barrier for me. English was actually my first language at the time, and I enjoyed speaking it very much. I would say Spanish was definitely more complicated, so interacting with native citizens was a challenge.

When I was eight, we moved to Panama. The move was hard, especially saying goodbye to my friends in Cuba. Panama was different, with its own unique charm. But making friends was never a problem for me.

After a year and a half, we moved back to Brazil. This return was the hardest. I was older now. Brazil felt both familiar and strange. I had been visiting it for many years, but always within the bubble of my family. The culture shock was intense. I struggled with the local dialect of Portuguese, my accent a blend of the places I'd lived.

As usual, I quickly made new friends who were curious about my life, but I wasn't like everybody else. I didn't know many songs, slangs, and inside jokes. My roots weren't Brazilian, and throughout my whole life I felt like that. The girl who had seen the world but didn't quite belong anywhere.

Looking back, my journey across continents shaped who I am, even though the transitions were tough, I wouldn't change a thing. My love for the sea remains. Every time I go to the beach. I spend hours by the shore, feeling the soft, white sand between my toes and the salty breeze. Each place, with its unique culture and people, taught me adaptability, and the beauty of diversity. The hardest part was always the goodbyes, leaving behind friends, but every friend I made and lost, each language barrier I overcame, they all made me who I am today.