I always wanted to travel.
To dare to live unimaginable adventures, overcome my fears and dare to be with me, next to the unknown.
To know cultures I was passionate about, to share with strangers and their different forms.
Understand the environmental reasons that differentiate us, but understand that at the same time we are more similar than we think.
Realize that in the end, we are part of the same planet and border barriers differentiate language and customs, but a smile breaks any limit, anywhere.
I always wanted to dare to show myself through writing.
I was afraid of prejudice,
I was afraid of "what they will say",
but I always wanted to portray my reality and leave it reflected in what I believe a liberating talent.
I wanted to lose my fears,
To the exterior,
to others
and my own demons.
Since a year ago, I no longer care much about what they will say ...
How can I care if now I've lost my fear of limits?
How can I care if I now realize that the right and wrong is as variable as the position of your steering wheel in your car or the clothes that cover you according to your culture?
Since a year ago I dared, without thinking much.
The truth, without thinking anything,
And a five-month plan has been transformed into a year and the directions and reasons for my life changed absolutely.
I met a strong person, who faced internal and past ghosts: I knew myself.
I traveled alone and I was my only companion at times,
Other times I traveled accompanied by angels on the road.
Since a year ago I jumped into an enigmatic adventure, without any clear dream, only the desire.
And again reality overcame fiction, generating much better experiences than I ever expected to have.
As nothing is free, I must say that since a year ago I also no longer receive a warm hug from my dad,
the wise advice of my mother is received without contact
and my wonderful little sister and I continue making jokes, but this time through an Iphone screen.
Since a year ago my dog does not follow me with his penetrating eyes, which love me more selflessly than any human being.
Since a year ago I no longer see my uncles, who both pampered me from my first steps and were pillars later in my real falls.
Since a year ago I no longer spend a night with my best friends, those where I felt complete just having them at my side, with their jokes, with their singularities. With them, just like that. Being them ...
Since a year ago I pray for the well-being of my grandmothers so I can see them again.
Since a year ago I left the warmth of my nest to learn to fly.
In return I received a Sydney that is more than I ever imagined. Much more.
With people sometimes kinder than my own countrymen.
And I dared ...
I dared to learn that respect is the basis of any healthy coexistence.
I dared to break the linguistic barriers to trust my instincts, as my most accurate and sensible source of apprehending reality.
I dared to have best friends from the most varied corners of the planet, who became my family, without common roots other than that explorer's dream they call Wanderlust.
That makes us the new discoverers of the inhospitable and conquerors of strange lands.
Since a year ago I have been creating indelible memories without a specific language but with a deep and genuine feeling.
I have shared with people that I never expected to know, that I had to find on this trip, so that cultural and border barriers do not limit the desire of the heart.
I have been living under a Visa for a year and I am an immigrant by choice, understanding that I am much more fortunate than those who must leave their land because of wars or hardships, but genuinely understanding their nostalgia and longings, the sad comparisons and the senseless desire that, sometimes, in the blink of an eye, you can feel the sweet scent of the known, even for a minute.
However, I also appreciate that since a year ago I have not felt labeled as an outsider, but rather awakened the curiosities of others about my culture and my beloved South American continent. Reciprocal and reciprocated curiosities.
Since a year ago Australia received me with open arms, curious eyes and testing opportunities
and I, since a year ago, every day, thank this experience with all my heart.
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. It is incredible to me that the translation of this text has made people from different continents feel identified.
Reaffirm the feeling: barriers do not exist, but people who create them.
