I have been meeting a lot of new people during my travels and I always think “huh, I should just send them to my blog!”.
But the truth is that this blog is still not quite there yet. It still doesn’t offer a good introduction to who I am to newcomers.
If this is your case, then you’re in the right place. I’m going to attempt to quickly compile 18 years worth of experiences and adventures.
takes a deep breath
Hey there! My name is Luisa and I’m an 18 year old from Brazil.
I was born in the city of Santa Maria but moved with my mom to Florianopolis, this beautiful island off the southern cost of Brazil, when I was 4.
As a kid, I prided myself in being very calm and easy. I lived alone with my mom for the first 8 years of my life, I had the best childhood anyone could ask for.
In school, I was shy but not excluded. I was very much the “hard-working nerdy girl” who sat in the first seat and was loved by all the teachers.
When I was 8, my mom met this amazing guy who would become my stepfather. I cannot begin to explain how thankful I am that he was brought into my life because I most definitely wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for his guidance and inspiration.
He is American and so, when I was 9, I went to the USA for the first time.
The main thing that I remember very well is my first thought when I stepped foot in this new country: “this feels like home”.
However, my life was in Brazil and that is where I completed high-school.
A lot happened during those years, of course, but the biggest change – the one that led to the person that I am today – began in my senior year.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, my school transitioned to remote learning. It was the best thing that could have happened to me.
The truth is that I always knew that I didn’t want to go to school in the USA, and so, being taken out of that grade-focused, stressful high-school environment allowed me to take a step back and begin diving into new interests.
In July 2020, I took an online workshop that opened my eyes to a whole new way of seeing the world. The Emerging Leaders Program was an intense, one week course with young leaders from all over the world. In it, I met older people from all backgrounds and aspirations. I became very interested in concepts of self-development, productivity and life-long learning.
I always knew that my future wasn’t in Brazil, and this course made the fact that I didn’t want to follow the traditional path of going straight into college crystal clear.
And so, I decided to take a gap year.
Trust me, it wasn’t as enlightened and smooth as it sounds now. There were many moments of doubt, many days (and weeks) I felt completely lost and confused.
The decision to leave behind the security pursuing a degree in a university in Brazil and a good career didn’t always seem like the smart option, but I don’t regret it for a single second.
In may, a week before I turned 18, I took another course by the same company (akimbo) that forever changed the course of my life.
It is called the altMBA and if you are even a little bit interested in it, if it sparks even a slight thought of “huh, maybe I should do this…” then I say: GO FOR IT!
Much more than show me just how much I’m capable of, and make me realize that there’s a change in the world that I want to make, the altMBA provided me with a job (developing websites) and led to the connections that have brought me to the other freaking side of the world.
So, here I am. Currently living in Zurich, Switzerland.
During the week, I work my ass off juggling my internship at the DMG/DIPG Center at the University Children’s Hospital, a part time website and product development job and maintaining my essence habits of yoga, strength training, cooking, meditation and writing.
During the weekends, I travel and post random stuff on my recently created and badly managed Instagram account (hyper_activedreamer).
Last weekend I went to Colmar, France. I’m currently writing this as fast as I can on the train to Nuremberg after spending my Saturday in Munich.
Phew, I can’t believe that I actually made it to the present day!
Anyways, if you are a random person I approached, began talking to and randomly gave you my website… welcome! Feel free to explore and read around as curiosity sparks you!
If you are an old friend, thank you for reading thought even though you probably already know all of this!
In either case, thank you and never stop dreaming 🙂