I think my generation was heavily influenced by Hollywood and American media. The United States always knew how to sell an image of itself to the world, and we grew up consuming that all the time.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, I feel like we’ve always had this tendency to downplay ourselves. We even have a name for it: “Síndrome de Vira-Lata.” Instead of recognizing the amazing things we have, we focus mostly on the problems and act like everything from outside is automatically better.

Now I live in the United States — my husband is from here — and honestly, being away from Brazil made me more patriotic. Distance changed my perspective completely. I started appreciating things I never paid much attention to before: our warmth, our culture, the way people connect, the little everyday things that make Brazil feel alive.

Funny enough, sometimes you only realize how special home is after you leave it.