Antônio Batalha

Sharing Life Stories

My great grandfather Joaquim was born in São Paulo and lived there for most of his life. He lived in a small cottage with his mother and father.

            When he was about eleven years old, he lost all his wealth when his parents died, so he had to live in the streets and work to survive. After a few years of hard labor, he managed to gather enough money to study and have a proper education. He spent many a night studying and he was accepted into a law school. While he was in college he met a woman called Emília, who he immediately fell in love with. Unfortunately, it took several years for the feeling to be mutual.

            I was told that he was a very loving and caring man, and after a few years, with her father’s blessing, he married her.

            Although he had many years of sadness, in the end, he got a job, a loving wife and three adorable children, one of them , my grandfather Wilson.

            This is the message he passed down for our family: “never lose hope”

About me

         My name is Antonio, I’m 12 (twelve) and I live in São Paulo, Brazil.

         I am tall and a little chubby, I have a tanned skin, brown hair and eyes. I am somewhat lazy and sometimes too much of a liar. I tend to be outgoing but I might, in rare cases, be shy.

     I currently study at Colégio Santa Cruz and I’m in 7^th grade. My favorite subjects are science and history, but I’m not really fond of Portuguese or geography.

         At school I have to copy almost everything that is on the board, and that really tires me. I don’t have to wear a uniform, except for gym class.

         At home I have to do my homework and study a little, but since I lack the organization to write the tasks down, due to that I sometimes forget to do my homework. I spend about one hour a day doing homework, then about three hours doing after school activities. After I’m done with that, I have some free time.

         I hope to be a biochemist, even though my family is against it. I really love the idea of making a contribution to humankind.