My grandma used to say a lot when I was younger that she’d rather know all of the cities of our state before traveling abroad like most people did. That idea grew on me, and I developed a powerful passion about my roots, specially my hometown and home country, and how overlooked it is by local citizens.
I was always amazed by the infinite amount of trees and forests I saw in the roads that connect distant cities, and, since then, I knew I wanted to make people value the beauty that our nature, our culture, our food and our people spread.
It was during a 4000km road trip four years ago that I saw the potential the hidden gems had, places that most people didn’t know about, and made their heart fill with joy when they got to know them. That’s what I started sharing on Google maps, sharing the little I knew about each and every town I visited, I’ve seen those places being known and valued more, and my passion for them grew even stronger, I chose my major in college to be someone who protects them, who shares their importance to our community, to the world.
This week, my grandma visited me in the new state I live in, when instead of driving her around the big city, I took her to the countryside where I’ve had been before, and I knew I had done the right thing, when we returned from her first waterfall bath, and she said with joy in her eyes while watching the nature in the distance: “So few people know how we are surrounded by gold”. And I knew it, one more time, how she was completely right.