Just a few things about the last 40 years
I remember…
…when I was around 8 years old, still not wearing eyeglasses, but always imagining myself with them. Today I can’t have the surgery to permanently remove them. It’s better this way.
…when I was around 11 years old, I had contact with English at school for the first time. It was a whole new world for me. I think it was the first time I was fascinated with knowing new words that, at the time, had no meaning for me. Today I use it more than my own native language.
…when I was 15, I still wanted to become a biologist (or a paleontologist) but then I was enrolled in a technical high school, where I was able to learn IT stuff. Today I’m a developer in a big international corporate.
…when I was 17, I had no idea what I would do if I couldn’t join the federal university. Today I know that it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me at the time.
…when I was 22, I took my first flight to Rio de Janeiro, then to Prague, then to Cracow. At the time I was supposed to live in Poland. Today I live in the Czech Republic.
…when I was 24, I was living in a small Polish town and met a lot of good people. At the time I was lost, trying to find out who I really am. Today I know that it was one of the most important periods of my life.
…when I was 26, I learned I had to return home, to Brazil, and I did. But I felt like a foreigner in my own land, so I returned to the Czech Republic. Today I have 2 homes.
…when I was 33, I learned that workmates are just people you interact with daily, and they aren’t necessarily gonna be your friends. Sometimes they may even throw you under the bus. Today I prefer to keep a safe and professional distance from them.
…when I was 35, I learned that my work as a developer is nothing more than an office job. I go to work, do my things, and get back home. Rinse and repeat. Salary comes at the beginning of every month. Today the sentence “It’s just an office job” is my mantra.
…when I was 37, I learned that people you think you know extremely well are still able to surprise you. That may be good or bad, depending on where you stand. Today I feel like having fewer friends and I think it’s better this way.
Today I am 40.
