Hey Aaron! Well, I know you don't know me, but I've got a little story to tell you about how I "discovered" you, and I thought it would be sort of funny If you knew it.
I'm 22 right now, and I'm from Brazil. Back when I was 12 or 13 I was really digging into Pixar and animation stuff, and people that would influence me and make me believe I could work with creation and art one day, and then I found your previous blog. I had a very very very bad english at that time, but I'd still try commenting sometimes and translating your posts to Google translator so I could catch up with things. I can tell that that was the time I learnt English the most, and was most influenced by in terms of animation and following my dreams.
Well, years went by and I decided not to do animation and design related courses, due to Brazil's situation about not having good conditions for jobs and projects to live out of it. Then I decided to start a Computer Science course in 2010. I was a very rough situation when I saw that merging what I liked (art and animation) would be almost an impossible thing. But still, I started a game as a project in the university. And there, I still remembered how you told your stories in animation in Horton, and Robots, and then in Pixar, and that was a huge motivation for me not to give up.
In 2013, something happened. I applied to a scholarship that could take me to any part of the United States. And even though my chances of going were little, I could still dream about visiting Pixar in Emeryville, and maybe having a talk with you or someone in Pixar and say a very bright THANK YOU! Well, I did get the scholarship! And even better, I got accepted in University of California, Davis and that was a one and a half hour driving to Emeryville, and I couldn't be happier (even though leaving my country was a very hard decision, but it was only for a year, so I could never let the opportunity go).
I did visit Pixar Animation Studios, and that was a very singular moment in my life. I was 19 at the time, I didn't have an invitation to get in and didn't see you, but that was alright, you know why? The meaning of getting there, seeing with my own eyes what was driving me to my dreams made me realize that life doesn't give us straight paths to things we want, but it still gives us the view to make our own way of getting stuff we think it's important.
I'm back in Brazil now, I've started to make games with a friend and I still want to go back and visit Pixar again, to say thanks even if I can't enter again.
I'm sorry for the long story, but I think that I had to tell you this. You've encouraged me to keep going, to learn english, to go after stuff, to study and to always try being better.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope life gives you lots of awesome moments, and that you achieve all of your dreams! Best, Filipe Barbosa Nunes
Hey Aaron! Well, I know you don't know me, but I've got a little story to tell you about how I "discovered" you, and I thought it would be sort of funny If you knew it.
ReplyDeleteI'm 22 right now, and I'm from Brazil. Back when I was 12 or 13 I was really digging into Pixar and animation stuff, and people that would influence me and make me believe I could work with creation and art one day, and then I found your previous blog. I had a very very very bad english at that time, but I'd still try commenting sometimes and translating your posts to Google translator so I could catch up with things. I can tell that that was the time I learnt English the most, and was most influenced by in terms of animation and following my dreams.
Well, years went by and I decided not to do animation and design related courses, due to Brazil's situation about not having good conditions for jobs and projects to live out of it. Then I decided to start a Computer Science course in 2010. I was a very rough situation when I saw that merging what I liked (art and animation) would be almost an impossible thing. But still, I started a game as a project in the university. And there, I still remembered how you told your stories in animation in Horton, and Robots, and then in Pixar, and that was a huge motivation for me not to give up.
In 2013, something happened. I applied to a scholarship that could take me to any part of the United States. And even though my chances of going were little, I could still dream about visiting Pixar in Emeryville, and maybe having a talk with you or someone in Pixar and say a very bright THANK YOU! Well, I did get the scholarship! And even better, I got accepted in University of California, Davis and that was a one and a half hour driving to Emeryville, and I couldn't be happier (even though leaving my country was a very hard decision, but it was only for a year, so I could never let the opportunity go).
I did visit Pixar Animation Studios, and that was a very singular moment in my life. I was 19 at the time, I didn't have an invitation to get in and didn't see you, but that was alright, you know why? The meaning of getting there, seeing with my own eyes what was driving me to my dreams made me realize that life doesn't give us straight paths to things we want, but it still gives us the view to make our own way of getting stuff we think it's important.
I'm back in Brazil now, I've started to make games with a friend and I still want to go back and visit Pixar again, to say thanks even if I can't enter again.
I'm sorry for the long story, but I think that I had to tell you this. You've encouraged me to keep going, to learn english, to go after stuff, to study and to always try being better.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I hope life gives you lots of awesome moments, and that you achieve all of your dreams!
Best,
Filipe Barbosa Nunes