This video was part of my apply for the Gap Year 2016 competition of the Portuguese Gap Year Association (AGYP). I reached the ten finalists but … I did not win. The plan was “go” and I went.
The video is in Portuguese but I translated it. I hope you like it 🙂
Video Message
“And every day you wake up and you have the same routine. It’s hard to get out of bed, it’s hard to start a new day. Every day laziness takes over and you go out for another day in your life that has nothing special. You depressed on Monday and on Sunday. You’re young but you already feel a home person that only wants to rest from work or classes, sometimes from both. You feel that life is going too fast. And you think every day that life it is much more than this, that are thousands of places to discover and millions of people to meet. You think you have to do more for yourself and for others.You wonder if you live or if you just survive. And you quickly come to the conclusion that you are surviving. You do not want to stay in the same place and all you want is to make life easier. Enjoy experiences instead of accumulating dreams. When you’re 70 you do not want to feel regret for things you did not do, you want to tell stories. And you have everything you need to change the course of your life, the will.
One day you’ll change your mind about life and realize that after school you do not have to start working right away. One day you think being an adult is boring and you just want to be a fish against the flowing and be young forever. You have plenty of time to be an adult. One day you are part of the young people who do not settle for the first thing that appears, do not want to be just one more, who prefer adventure, who want to get off the couch and get in the way. You feel that the time to do something else, it’s here. And everything inspires you to take a step without fear. Life, friends, family inspire you. The opportunity to change someone’s life, to help the other inspires you. The challenges and the unknown inspire you. You want to leave your mark. In the end, inspiration goes hand in hand with determination and so the world inspires you . And with determination you follow your dreams because you know that the best of you is to come.
Great adventures do not require much. Require will, adrenaline, confidence and a little madness. Adventures ask you to go alone even if no one is willing to go with you. Ask you to grab your backpack and run because you will never be alone, we are 7 billion in the world. If someone tells you that you can not do it, ignore it and get out on the road. Save as much money as you can, if you need work on vacation and do not spend unnecessary money on clothes, restaurants and the latest technology. Do not let the lack of money prevent you from living an unforgettable adventure. Get a solution and go. You have to start taking your youth seriously before you become an adult full of responsibilities. Especially, do not be too tired to live. Get out of your comfort zone and do your best. If you think you can change the world, change!
Stop exchanging your dreams for the idea that after a degree you must have a job, a career, marriage, children and a life of endless waiting for the weekend and vacations. There are no excuses or “ifs” for not going on an adventure in search of what life has to give and what you can offer to life. More than a trip, it is a discovery of the world and you.
Make a difference in your life, wake up and get out of the rut. Makes of the present an unforgettable memory.
Breathe in, breathe out and go! “
Text written by Ana Teresa André
May 2016
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