Thank you, thank you, thank you

Last week I was part of the 2nd online edition of Pycon Brazil. An inclusive event, with interpreters to Brazilian sign language, free admission, code of conduct and much more.

At the end of the event there is a tradition to deliver an award named Dornelles Treméa | Jean Ferri:

• The Dorneles Treméa/Jean Ferri Award is given to the member, or members, of the Brazilian Python community who keep alive the spirit of collaboration, entrepreneurship and commitment to the community.

On October 15th 2021, I won the award.

Obviously I didn’t win this award alone. I won alongside two people I admire: Jessica Temporal, my great partner at Pizza de Data and many adventures, and Eduardo Mendes (Dunossauro), a person who dedicates his life to education!

This text is my (long) thank you that I couldn’t do at the time of the award.

My first Pycon Brazil was in 2016, in Florianópolis. I was attending for the first time but I was also part of the organization team. Amazed by the environment and bewildered by the amount of amazing people, I saw the award be given to Paula Grangeiro.

I watched as Paula went to the stage and, in tears, dedicated the award to the Brazilian Pyladies. I saw many of the women in the room also in tears. The scene, totally new and unexpected to me, hit me very hard. It was all so beautiful… and my thought was: “will I ever do something that has such an impact?”.

Five years later, while they called my name, a single thought came to mind: “I don’t deserve this.” Ramalho? Masanori? Débora? Paula? Yes, I think all these wonderful people deserved and still deserve the honor of the award. Me? Pff.

Over the years, countless events, small and large, left their marks on my heart… what I saw, in every place I looked, were scenes of teaching, giving, of love.

With these people I learned how to be available to those who need help. They were the ones who showed me that teaching is the greatest form of love. And it was observing its dynamics that I learned that I can make mistakes, as long as I learn from my mistake and improve.

I have now had a few days of introspection and managed to find something here and there that I am proud of. I think my podcast Pizza de Dados is the project I’m best known for. We’ve told the story of the podcast many times, and it really was something that grew without us knowing exactly how. Also I like some articles I’ve written and some talks make me particularly happy with the result.

If I can talk about one thing I’m proud of was the organization of the Python Sul 2018 (South Brazil Pycon). Python Sul was the first Python conference in Brazil with simultaneous translation into Libras (it is important to mention that the Pyladies from Porto Alegre had already held a local event with an interpreter). Today, 3 years later, seeing Python Brazil do the same thing makes me tear up.

I think I’m writing all this to try to convince myself I deserved this award. Honestly, I still don’t think I’ve done enough. I know countless people who deserve the award. I think this is the great strength of this community: there are always more people working for the good of it than there are prizes to be distributed.

In the end, the only thing I can do is say thank you. A lot of what I have and a lot of who I am is because these people were part of my life. Absolutely everything I did was my way of giving thanks for everything I received. This award is just another piece of love given to me. So: thank you, thank you, thank you.

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