We all may live in different worlds, but we all see the same sunset. On a Tuesday afternoon, I had the oppurtunity to sit down and talk with Geassy Germano from Americana, São Paolo, Brazil who is on her junior year here at Longwood University. Prior to Longwood, Geassy attended Southern Utah University for two years. While talking with Geassy, I came to realize that we don’t just leave places because they aren’t good for us, sometimes we leave places simply because we have gotten everything that we need from that place. This story is important because we need to realize that sometimes we stay where we are because we are comfortable and we need to realize that as humans we shouldn’t continue to stay somewhere that isn’t watering us and helping us grow. Geassy was a hard worker, she stayed on top of her studies and she became very focused and locked in when it came to basketball. Geassy’s childhood/teenage years were spent majority in the gym working on her basketball skills, and soon enough she started to gain the interest of Division I schools in the United States.

Those interest start growing into scholarship offers, and Geassy had to begin thinking of what life would be like playing basketball but in the United States of America. “Once schools started to reach out, I started to researching about these schools in the United States and next thing you know I started to gain interest in coming here. I really thought the experience would be good to get away from my family at an early age to start preparing for my future.” Moving across the world is a big jump especially at the age where you just graduated from high school. Although Geassy was fearful of this opportunity, that same fear is what pushed her into making her decision which was coming to America to continue her education and athletic career.

Along with her decision came some difficulties, she struggled with a few things once she got to the United States. “I think understanding English was one of my biggest difficulties. Sometimes it is hard to understand what is exactly being said. So I ask two or three times, which sometimes I don’t ask again because I don’t want to be the annoying friend who can’t understand what is being said,” says Geassy. I can only imagine what that feels like, and how that could make a person feel. Throughout these difficulties, Geassy has overcome some of these by using her resources throughout the university.

Geassy’s experience in the United States has been nothing short of amazing. Being at Longwood for just a year and she already feels at home. “My relationship with my teammates is everything I wanted and more, they feel like home,” says Geassy. Geassy hasn’t really faced any new difficulties, she sometimes still has troubles with language barriers. Overall, it seems that Geassy is very happy with the decision she made to come to the United States and that she is beyond blessed for all the people that she has met along the way. “I really want to stay in the United States after graduation, I just do not know where I want to live, there are so many places to choose from,” says Geassy.

“Brazil has giving me so much and for that I am extremely grateful. I just feel like sometimes we must move on and accept everything that a place has given us and move on to something new,” smiles Geassy. Geassy has had a great experience in Brazil, but she feels that it is time to experience something different, and she is doing just that. She takes every opportunity that she can get her hands on, and makes the best of it. It was really a pleasure to sit down with such an incredible soul, with such a positive attitude. A lesson to remember after chatting with Geassy, is that it is important to do things that scare us a little bit because it will help you grow as a person.