Not having a challenge is a bore

I love a challenge! A teacher once mentioned something to me. I only really paid attention to his classes when there was some hard problem to be solved. Specially if my other classmates were not capable of figuring it out. And that’s true. If it is something easy, or that I already know, I lose interest very quickly in it. I am always looking to learn something new. So, not having a challenge bores me immensely.

I have mentioned the time when I participated in the Mathematics Olympiad. That was a very productive time in my life. Another one was when I was studying to enter the university.

Wining my first scholarship

I don’t remember who told me or who went with me, but it was one of my school buddies. When I was finishing high school, I learned that Cursinho Universitário, a preparatory school, was giving away scholarships. These were for students aiming to improve their grades in an exam in Brazil comparable to the SAT in the USA. This was good publicity for that school. By attracting the best students, they could later advertise they had a high approval rating on that exam. I was the first place on their exam, and won a full scholarship! I was beyond happy! It was a validation that I was on the right track in my studies. But the most important reason was that I could not afford it otherwise. Winning the scholarship was essential for me.

Working hard

That time of my life wasn’t easy. I would wake up at 5:00 am. Then, I would take a shower and have a quick breakfast. I needed to catch the bus at 6:00 am. This allowed me to enter the gates to the high school at 7:00 am. Classes ended at noon. I would walk 20 minutes at a brisk pace to get to the subway. Then, I would buy a quick lunch again. I entered my job as an office boy at 1:00 pm.

The job of an office boy is demanding enough, physically speaking. I went back and forth in the financial district. My tasks consisted in bringing documents from clients and cheques to be deposited. I also handled money orders. Additionally, I bought coffee and other small orders for the branch manager. It was the period of my life that I was super thin. I look back at the pictures and can’t believe it.

By 6:00 pm, I would leave my job. I would eat a quick dinner and then jump on the subway again. This was to get to the preparatory classes, the one for which I won the scholarship. I would study there until 11:00 pm. Then, I would get home at midnight. I would take a quick shower and go to sleep. I started everything all over again the next day.

But it was well worth it

This allowed me to enter a prestigious university in Brazil, called Unicamp. I have also mentioned my time there and friendships I made along the way. All because I had a challenge in front of me, a goal to be achieved. I needed to enter a good university. Fortunately I didn’t have much time to get bored then. Not having a challenge would make me despair of boredom. I hope it will always be this way, having realistic objectives to be conquered until I die.