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January 13, 2018. I can't forget this data. That's when I realized one of my biggest dreams: to travel to Canada! It was my first trip alone, and I was pretty scared at first, but at the same time confident that I had done something right. On the first day, I went to receive at school and spent a month studying English. I was very excited to meet my classmates, and everything was going very well until I started to observe the other students who were in my class and notice that I was the only black girl present. I never cared to be the “weird” from the group, but somehow it left me bad. At no time did I feel how people treated me differently, but somehow it's as if I don't belong there and that brought me back to the symptom in my hometown. However, as soon as we were released for lunch, I started noticing all the students and I realized that I was not only a single black girl in the class, but also seemed to be a single black girl from the ENTIRE SCHOOL. It made me think about so many things, but the main question that haunted me for days was: am I in the right place? Soon after, I realized how prejudiced I was, having the same type of thinking, and I started to reflect why I was the only black woman in that place. Why do I deserve less than someone? I'm Brazilian and I grew up in a simple neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro (that's right, land of samba and soccer!) And, despite being one of the most visited and evaluated places in the world, I never felt anywhere else. We always learned that white people got things done faster, because they had more opportunities than we did, but I never stopped dreaming for that. As the days go by, I start talking to some friends that I met in the exchange about it and I heard a lot of different opinions. One day, a friend from France said to me in a tone that seemed surprised and mocking: But you are not black! And I kept thinking: How come I am not black? Just because my skin tone is not so dark? Although I have this tone, yes, I consider myself black. And what's the problem with that? But Suna, a Korean friend and saying passage, one of the best people who exchange brought to me, told me that she thinks that in Korea, for example, she has almost no black people and when she sees, is never a position prominent in society, but in charges of cleaning and basic services. She never treated me differently, on the contrary, she said that the fact that I was different could make me stand out more. Yeah, I wanted everyone to think like Suna. But unfortunately life is not like that. On the one hand, I was very happy to make my biggest dream come true, but at the same time I thought: very few black people get this opportunity. It is a transformative experience that could change the lives of so many people ... At the end of my exchange period, I was very accomplished with everything I achieved: I was first in my class, having a higher grade in all the tests we did during this period, take courage to apply for jobs that require advanced English and most important of all: I learned to love and respect myself as I am. And I recommend all people to do the same.