A quality that I possess which allows me to contribute to the university community is the ability to adapt to a new environment. My father's occupation required us to move at a moment's notice. I developed a skill for adapting to new surroundings.
I was two years old when my father's bank transferred him from Brazil to the Cayman Islands. I quickly began speaking English and Portuguese, becoming bilingual by five. With a sudden turn of events, my father's bank asked him to return to Brazil after three years in Cayman.
In Brazil, I attended a new school with a completely different culture and environment. Fortunately, I rapidly made friends and acclimatized to my new life. My newly formed friendships were short-lived, however. After spending one year in Brasil, my father was once again relocated to the Cayman Islands. Again, I attended a new school and made new friends.
My Brazilian culture easily blended in with the relaxed Caymanian culture. For the next nine years I indulged in the easy-going island lifestyle. After my freshman year of high school, I moved to Tampa, FL in hopes of making tennis a career. I roomed with others from all over the world that shared the same goal I did. My roommates became my best friends but we parted after one year. They left for college while I came to Miami. I enrolled in my third high school in just as many years. Once again, I made new friends and adapted to my new environment. Since I had multicultural experiences, and Miami is culturally diverse, it only made sense that I fit without difficulties. In college, I hope to increase my cultural knowledge and share what I have learned with others.
