About me
My name is Valentina Flor, I am seventeen years old and I was born the 19th of April, 2002 in Quito, Ecuador. I have lived in Ecuador my entire life but since the majority of my family comes from Brazil I have always benefited from being raised in a mixture of these two beautiful and unique cultures. For me, family is the number one priority, and has a further meaning of support and unconditional love. My family is very linked through a series of cultural aspects such as food, traveling, art, and many other important things that keep us constantly united. I have one sister and we are very close; for as long as I can remember we have been trying new things together and exploring the world in every possible way, this has truly shaped my character and my way of seeing life. She is the person I most admire in the world, everything I do is instantly better if shared with her. I am a horseback rider, and have been for the past eight years, it is my greatest passion and I believe this amazing sport has taught me the most important life lessons of positivity, team work, perseverance and hope.
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I love my country and this entire world very much, I love people, nature, food, culture and am in complete awe of everything humans still need to learn about humanity itself. I have constantly been intrigued about the different realities around the world, it is utterly fascinating for me to think about the millions of people out in the world that have so much to offer me and teach me that will help me grow. For this reason, I have always closely followed the project Beyond Lagartococha; I feel that being part of it is what will put me one step closer to becoming the person I desire to be, and at the same time it is the way to provide opportunities and help others achieve their desired dreams and goals. I think that helping others is not really about giving things, but about providing opportunities for those people that have a million dreams but need the most help to accomplish them. I believe that this project is that little step humans must take if we want to create a better world for all of us. Also, nature has always been like home for me, I feel calm and protected, at the same time it is full of surprises and there are infinite lessons that it can teach you, this is why Beyond Lagartococha gives me a sense of home. I feel safe and capable, which is exactly what we look to transmit to the Secoya people; a group of whole hearted humans that irradiate innocence, happiness appreciation and love.
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This initiative is truly a life changing experience; being able to help is the best way to allow ourselves to grow. Contributing with a little grain of commitment to a more equal world is the best job one can ever have. There are no words that can describe the feeling we have once we arrive to Paikenape and Mañoco and see all the people welcoming us, the kids so happy to meet us and at the same time so curious about these new people that have come to visit them. From the moment we arrived we were wrapped around in hugs and laughs, this welcoming gave us a sense of true friendship and helped us realize how much everything we do for this community is worth it. This feeling is something beyond happiness and what the Secoya people and children have taught me is that pursuing this indescribable feeling of joy should be our reason to get up every morning and work hard to live the life we want to be proud of, and to create a world filled with people of hearts as big as the Secoyas.
