Well, let me tell you my story!

I'm Brazilian, 23 years old currently living in São Paulo and very new on Steemit.
I came from a poor family from northeast Brazil that went to São Paulo for better opportunities in life. I have studied in a public school because my parents had no money to pay for my education and I grew up in a poor neighborhood with all sort of problems you can imagine.
I've started at my first job with 16-17 years old and then I realized how important was having a job, making money and, the most important, networking. When I finished High School, I've had money enough to travel around Europe for a couple months and... That's what I did.
As the only child I've had no one to play with while I was a kid, all my cousins were much older than me, so I enjoyed my solitude with books and an old computer that I had (windows 96). I don't know exactly when, but I've learned to speak English by myself, with music, books and the dictionary, I also learned how to fix any computer related problem. What I want to tell you with this story?
Well... I had "no opportunities" for a good education or going to a language school, my parents couldn't afford and all I had was my free time as a kid.

We often hear people say that when you are poor you don't have better chances in life, that you are discriminated, that women suffer from lots of different things, that when you're not white you are prejudged etc... well, I cannot agree with any of that... just because I realized that the most valuable thing we have in life is our time, and using your time wisely can make the difference.
I always enjoyed making tests and exams in school... my favorite time of the semester was during the exams... because there I could show how good or bad I could be at some specific subject, and my teacher would tell me what I should improve.

Once I told my story to a British guy I've known in Rio and so he asked me: "Don't you suffer from prejudice? You know... you are black, woman, Brazilian and from a poor family? Do you believe men have advantages over women?"
My answer to him was "Of course no! I've had great job opportunities cause I could show how good I could be performing that task, I've learned a new language without any teacher, I've travelled Europe with my own money , and right now I live in Ipanema, lass than 1km away from my current job... I'm actually very blessed and privileged" (I was living in Rio at that time)
He just got shocked, cause everybody told him the opposite.

I don't want to sound as I am better than anyone... I just wanted to show you how you can go after your goals and how you can make your dreams come true... and that the most important is to have humility and use your time wisely, cause time is money ;)
And now we have Steemit to help us on reaching our objectives and sharing life experiences!
You are free to choose what you want to do with your life... don't waste your time!

Thank you very much for reading!!

Cheers from Brazil