Reflecting on my childhood, one particular memory stands out as a defining moment of my life. It was a time when I wore multiple hats – quite literally- as a director, actress, producer, videographer and even an engineer. The best part, my little sister was my trusted sidekick in our imaginative endeavors. We were the co-stars on “Jornal Nacional” and “Julinha TV”. We had a broad audience: My mom, my dad, my grandparents and friends who were forced to sit on my living room couch and watch us perform for hours. With a cardboard TV frame cut out placed on top of our heads like a helmet we became the most famous professionals in the cinema industry, or at least that’s what we believed.
I remember the extravagant costumes we made, asking my mom to buy glitter glue, running around with makeup and props and the worried look in my dad’s eyes when he thought we were about to break his camera. Little did I realize at that time that these playful moments were laying the foundation for my deep-seated love and passion for film and creativity. From the first time I held a camera in my hand, I never let it out of my sight ever again. It became more than just a tool, it was an extension of myself, a conduit for expressing my ideas and emotions.
Thirteen years later, I got my acceptance letter to Syracuse University. I was finally here, on the brink of a new beginning. Yet, amid the excitement, a wave of anxiety threatened to consume me. It was then that my mother turned and enveloped me in a warm hug. As she pulled away, I could see her eyes glistened with unshed tears. It’s understandable, she was entrusting her eldest daughter to navigate a foreign country five thousand miles away from home. And I was leaving her. The one who did everything for me. She was the reason I am here, the reason I am who I am. At that moment, I remembered something she said to me “your best quality is being who you are”. Even so, I did not understand what she meant until I came to Syracuse. Here, I discovered that I connect with people and connect them to each other, and I have been doing that for longer than I thought. Even when my sister and I made everyone sit and watch us perform, they were creating connections between them and with us without realizing. To me, that is communication.
So, as I stood on the verge of this new chapter in my life, I made a promise to myself: I would have no doubts. I owed it to my mother, and myself, to seize every opportunity to pursue my passion. It was her love and sacrifice that brought me to this moment. However, Newhouse is transforming me into a story teller, and that is the most important hat I will wear. I am determined to make them proud.