leaving brazil

Tulio Sasaya
July 06, 2025

i can’t believe i already left.

for the past two weeks, i have been in brazil spending time with family and it’s been really special.

i have not seen them in over six months, so getting to be around everyone again felt incredibly grounding.

we celebrated my grandfather’s 80th birthday, spent a weekend in a cabin, and had long conversations that made me feel closer to them.

i sometimes forget how lucky i am to have such a big, loving extended family.

it’s something i don’t really have in the u.s., and i miss it more than i realize.

while there are more opportunities for me here in terms of school and career, the sense of being surrounded by people who truly care is something i constantly search for and value greatly in my life.

but what brings me comfort is knowing that no matter where i go, i’ll always have a family waiting for me in brazil.

takeaways:

family is cool
i like my family
i enjoy spending time with family

from the garden 🌷

here’s what a few of you said about a lesson you had to learn the hard way:

I got a massive reminder of this just last night... but do NOT leave things to the last minute. as bad as you think saying smth will be, not communicating just makes it worse. I delayed paying a friend back for months because I did not want to deal with having to go through my parents... boy do I wish I had done that 6 months earlier... - sol

You need to admit that not everything is supposed to go your way and maybe that's a good thing. When I moved to a different city I was really sad for leaving my best friend but maybe that was a necessary part of my life that needed to happen. maybe if this never happened I wouldn't have been where I am today and I don't want that. - erina

how to stop saying yes to everyone, agreeing to do whatever people wanted was taking everything out of me, and it left me no time for myself. most people would never return the favor either if i was the one reaching out for help... but now i've learned to be less of a doormat and stick up for myself 😂 - cathy

that every wonderful interaction with the people i've met, in time, these will become a memories. this is hard for me, because i genuinely care for every interaction i made, because i think they may bring lessons in my life that even didn’t realized it now, maybe in time, i can. that why every every happy moments i experience, it also makes me feel sad real quick. - rich

there were many times in my life where i really wish i did not have to learn a lesson the hard way. however, something i’ve realized is that even if i could go back in time and tell myself exactly what to do differently, i don’t think it would’ve stuck. it still would have taken learning it the hard way for me to internalize it.

even in the worst moments, there’s always something to carry forward.

for next week’s question:

“what’s a small win you’ve had recently that made you feel proud?”

if you want your response featured on this newsletter’s next issue fill out this form!

YOOOOOO

no community spotlight section unfortunately for this week’s newsletter. i have been traveling non-stop for the past week so life has been veryyy hectic lmao. thank you for reading and i hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

wishing you all the best,

tulio sasaya