Com uma redação sobre feijoada, a estudante brasiliense Sofia Rosa, de 17 anos, conseguiu um feito raro: ser aprovada em 11 universidades dos Estados Unidos. Ela usou o prato típico brasileiro para falar sobre a diversidade no país, passando pelo período escravocrata no Brasil, e descrever sua personalidade. Até sexta-feira (24), Sofia ainda aguardava pela resposta de mais quatro universidades, e não foi aceita em outras três. O objetivo da jovem é estudar marketing.
Na hora de decidir o tema, Sofia conta que pesquisou e viu que muitos estudantes que buscavam uma vaga no exterior usavam analogias para escrever sobre si mesmos. “Vi uma pessoa que escreveu que a vida era como uma pulseira e os berloques representavam cada característica”, lembra. “Todo mundo estranha quando falo o tema da redação. ‘Como assim falar de feijoada em redação acadêmica?’ Mas todos que leem ficam surpresos com o desfecho”, contou Sofia ao G1.
No texto, Sofia fez um paralelo sobre o surgimento da feijoada, preparada por escravos com as sobras dos porcos servidas aos senhores, e o seu crescimento pessoal, como ser humano. “Eu tive de aprender quando parar e a definir limites, exatamente como no preparo da feijoada”, escreveu.
Sofia diz que desde criança sonha em estudar no exterior. A ideia era fazer intercâmbio no ensino médio, mas o período coincidiu com a pandemia de Covid-19 e ela adiou o sonho para a universidade. “Comecei a investir nesse projeto no segundo ano do ensino médio, quando me inscrevi e comecei a estudar para os vestibulares lá de fora, para as provas de proficiência em inglês, esse tipo de coisa”, conta.
Em 2021, a brasiliense fez o primeiro SAT – Scholastic Assessment Test, equivalente ao vestibular nos Estados Unidos. Segundo ela, ficou mais focada na prova, deixando a redação para o final. “Eu não sabia o que falar. Pensei em escrever assim: ‘Oi, gente, sou a Sofia, vão gostar de mim na universidade de vocês?'”, brincou. Foi daí que veio a ideia de explorar as características de seu prato favorito.
“Eu estava em viagem com a família e recebi um e-mail de ‘Parabéns pela aprovação’. Eu estava na praia e gritei tanto que todo mundo ouviu. Pessoas de outras barracas vieram me dar parabéns. Depois veio aprovação atrás de aprovação. É muito gratificante”, afirmou ao G1.
Leia na íntegra a redação aprovada em inglês:
“Feijoada
In Portuguese, feijoada derives from the word “feijão” – bean. Brazilians eat beans every day, but feijoada is something special. One of the most typical foods in Brazilian history. Crucial for good old family meetings on Saturdays. The delicious smell of braised sausages, my mom’s laughter as I fail to samba, and to listen to the best thing any grandmother can say: Food is ready! This dish tells many stories, including my own. Back when Brazil was still a colony, enslaved people would cook beans with the only meat they had access to, the dismissed pork parts. Nowadays, it is paramount that a well-made feijoada must have these ingredients. They give an exceptional taste and make it unique.
Sensitivity, as those leftovers, for many, may be considered useless. However, it can add a whole new flavor when properly nurtured. For years I blamed myself for being too intense. I thought it made me look fragile. Occasionally, whenever I had a crisis, my dad – also a sensitive person – would advise me that crying helped us gain strength and overcome any difficulty. Owing to him, I learned to be proud of my sensitivity. It is part of my personality and doesn’t make me weak.
Cooking feijoada could be considered a form of art. Not only for all the mixed ingredients but also for the process it takes. You must know when to start and when to end it. It is usual for a 15-year-old girl not to master this art quite yet. My English teacher needed help creating social media content to sell online classes, and I volunteered as a freelance marketing consultant and media creator – a fancy name that I didn’t know back then. So I dived into the world of advertising and fell hard for it. With my teacher’s support, I started studying the power of verbal and non-verbal communication and understanding its importance for small and global businesses.
By the time I got to my senior year, managing school and work was hard, but I still hadn’t felt that burning smell. Strict schedules helped me cope with finishing my daily tasks and working for more clients. But the Brazilian educational system requires advanced knowledge of various subjects, which turned work into a much more challenging assignment at that moment. And there was the smell. I was overcooking. I had to learn when to stop and set boundaries, just like when timing feijoada. Sometimes there’s too much on your plate, and I realized that you must prioritize what’s most vital for yourself without compromising life’s true flavor.
An excellent feijoada must have its seasoning – all kinds of pepper, bay leaves, fresh chives, and garlic. As the little things that make life worth living. Happiness doesn’t come only from significant events or achievements. Sure, those are awesome. But to notice the minor happenings in daily life is priceless – the smell of damp soil when the rain comes after a long drought. Ace a difficult test. To hear your grandma call for your favorite meal.
Like beans build the foundation of feijoada, the meat and the seasoning form its essence. Sometimes, life can bring up what seems unimportant, but now I know that even a pinch can be fundamental, and I have learned to embrace every part of my personality. Today, I understand the value of each ingredient in this dish, every piece of me that makes me extraordinary, and I am keen to say:
Food is ready.”
