Amazonian Dream
At thirteen, I didn't understand the meaning of the words stereotype and inequality or what they stood for between men and women. My parents never limited me based on my gender. They raised me with love and open-mindedness, teaching me that with perseverance and hard work, anything can be achieved. As children, we often find a role-model to shape our lives around, striving to be just like them. People often choose celebrities, comic book heroes, sports icons, political figures, and the like. However, the person I most admired, and my personal hero was my grandfather, Tamu. He was well-traveled and adventurous. He spent his early teenage years exploring foreign lands digging through vast jungles mining for gold. He used to go every year for months at a time on an epic adventure living in the Amazon with a tribe called the "Wayana" in French Guiana. He was my real-life Indiana Jones.