When I turned fourteen, my grandma handed me a camera, a set of lenses, and a tripod—as if I needed more encouragement to leave the house. I signed up for night photography classes not to interfere with my surfing and school schedule. And I enjoyed it so much that I decided to become a professional photographer. But my dad said, “No. You will die of hunger as a photographer in Brazil.”
Well, I didn’t stay in Brazil. I fell in love at sixteen and moved to the U.S. at seventeen to live with my surfer boyfriend. I planned to stay for a year, but I stayed for 30. I settled in, matured (somewhat), and became a responsible American citizen.
As an art director in the ad and magazine world, I met a magazine editor who read an essay I wrote and urged me to try writing. I thought she was crazy since English is my second language, but I followed her advice and enrolled in every creative writing class I could afford.
Life took many turns, leading me to work as a para-educator at a K-12 special education school, teaching technology and social skills to children who reminded me of my younger self. I loved it so much that I returned to school, earning a B.A. in English Literature from Grand Canyon University. The plan was to go all-in on academia toward a PhD, but COVID had other ideas.
Now I’m back in Brazil, caring for my parents, and yes, I miss the U.S. But this twist in my story gave me the time to dive into my writing and finish my first novel, Orbiting Hearts, the first of many to come.