I recently watched a new cartoon, it just released. But don’t worry, no spoilers ahead. It’s a story about a robot who finds himself in the heart of the jungle.
Could you imagine a robot who made of metal, designed to help others, programmed for precise, well-defined tasks. Every movement is calculated, every action is measured. But this robot is thrown into the wild — a world where no one understands him, and he can’t understand anyone. He tries to understand the sense of the animals around him, but only through logic and science.
And this story… it reminded me of myself.
It reminded me of the time when I first arrived in beautiful Spain, about two years ago. Like that robot, I found myself in a strange, unknown place — a place where I didn’t speak the language, where everything felt unfamiliar and chaotic. Back then, I knew only two words in spanish: “hola” and “adios.” (Now I know a few more, like “café con leche, no azúcar” and “bocadillo con tomate” — haha.)
I remember how I first time attended a meeting where nobody speaks English, and how I how helpless I felt. I tried to get at least some context of the speech, and it felt like my brain was about to explode.
But even with the language barrier, I was lucky enough to meet amazing people who brought energy into my life. Just like in the cartoon, these people helped me feel less robotic. I was surprised, they didn’t need perfect words, and they didn’t expect me to be like them, but they helped me to understand what really matters: connection, kindness, and simply being present.
Like that robot, I was “built” far from this place, in a completely different environment. Growing up, I followed a kind of “program” that my family and society instilled in me. It was practical, rational, and safe life, where every decision was planned down to the last detail. For a long time, I searched for a success and thought that success was simply about reaching goals and building financial security, moving step by step toward what seemed like the logical end.
But when all that changed, and I found myself in a new environment, I realized that the greatest asset I have is myself, and the greatest success is to be in balance with yourself. I began rediscovering who I am, thinking about what I truly want and what makes me feel alive.
I’m still on this journey, but here’s what I’ve learned so far: on one hand, I’m passionate about technology and discovering new things. Sometimes the future and how fast we’re progressing scares me. But at the same time, I’m still a dreamer. I believe we’re going to explore new planets, build artificial intelligence, and find cures for the things we thought impossible. These dreams drive me every day and inspire me to stay as healthy as I can — to see just how far we, as humans, can go.
One of my favorite moments in the cartoon is when the robot meets others like him. But they reject him, saying he has changed, that he’s not like them anymore, that he’s “defective.” And that’s exactly how I feel sometimes — like a robot who reprogrammed himself to be more human. This feeling of change and discovery drives me every day, encouraging me to keep learning more about who I am.