book about my insanity

i got very sentimental

So my sister spent eleven days in Brazil. I'm super envious and jealous, but I feel like the souvenirs were just enough to make up for the fact I didn't go.

She gave me this key chain from a small town where they helped renovate a school and donated school supplies. She said that when they gave the principal the supplies, she burst into tears and kissed every single item they gave her. It honestly kind of changes my perspective because one doesn't realize how privileged they are until they get a front row seat to the lives of the unprivileged.

Then my sister got this miniature figure for free from Christ the Redeemer at the gift shop. I don't know what exactly it's made of, but it has hand-carved writing of "Rio" which makes it even more personal.

This has to be my all-time favorite gift. It's about the size of my hand and is entirely made of soapstone. Soapstone is one of the two materials used to construct Christ the Redeemer. It honestly has so much sentimental value because I've always wanted to visit Christ the Redeemer and other ideological monuments such as the Colosseum and the Great Pyramids.

I've never been out of the country before, so this is the closest I've gotten to visiting outside of the states. One of these days, though, I'm gonna save up the money to travel. Most of all, though, I want to serve those less fortunate.

My sister said her favorite part about the trip was seeing the children at the school they were helping to renovate. She said they were all so grateful for their service and that the adults and teenagers were offering everything they could afford. According to my sister, they offered them food, a place to stay, souvenirs, and so on.

One little girl even told my sister that she has pretty eyes. I don't know much about ethnicity in Brazil (except for most of them are nearly entirely Portuguese), but my sister told me that the little girl had never seen blue eyes before. Me and my sister have practically the same eyes, and I thought it was really special.

But two years ago, I went to Space Camp and met a group from Beijing, China. Two of the girls (Amanda & Tiffany) asked to feel my hair and my friend's hair. They had never seen light brown hair like my own or blonde hair like my friend's. They also kept admiring my blue eyes and my friend's green eyes.

It's such a life-changing moment when you realize some people haven't experienced the things you think are normal; things that happen on a regular basis. Humanity is a wonderful thing. It's just a reminder that not everything has to be cruel and malicious and that some people who are strangers to you can look at you confidently and say, "You're special. I think you're beautiful."

I'm sorry for getting a bit carried away. I only meant for this to be an entry about my souvenirs from Brazil, but woah have my eyes been opened.

I don't know what made me continue typing this passage the way I have, but I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not going back and editing, so you guys and can see just how much this transitioned from souvenirs to what makes the world special.