Freedom

Because to take away a man's

freedom of choice, even his freedom 

to make the wrong choice, is to

manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person 

Madeleine L' Engle

Hello my sweet readers. It has been a while since my last post. And so much has happened 

since then. I no longer live in London, yes that's right. My daughters and I are now living in Portugal, more precisley Cascais, a very charming town near the coast, we are loving it!

No it wasn't a rushed decision, or the result of something bad happening in my life, in fact the thought of moving back to Portugal never left my mind through all the years I lived in England. 

My decision to move back was based on the fact that I finally felt free. Freedom of choice, freedom to move about and do as I please. Eighteen years ago after my eldest daughter was born, I was a new mother gripped by fear of having to raise my baby on my own, the fear of being left behind overcome my best judgement and that's how I found myself moving away from home. I never realized at the time that the lack of choice would have such a big impact on all the years I lived abroad.

I was born in Angola raised in Portuagl by my grandparents who had fled from the Civil War, I am familiar with the immigrant/refugee way of life, I do understand the frustation, detachment, nostalgia and anger of leaving a life behind, although when I think about my grandparents and uncles I now realise that I never haven't understood nor grasp their feelings properly, I do know. The last thing I wanted was to live with a feeling of not belonging, and even more scaring was for my children to see the saddness inside me. As I was slowly healing and recovered from my separation I came to the conclusion that I had a choice, this time I could choose if I wanted to stay or leave, and just like that something inside me broke free. I obviously chose to come back home.

Feeling trapped for so many years was my personal hell, I had to constantly remind myself of my privileges and that my choice was not depending of the approval or validation of anyone and that my dear readers is what I call FREEDOM. 

       Thank you for reading my first post here in Portugal, I hope you like it and enjoy the pictures.

     

       Dress: Grazia 

       Location: Guincho

       Photos by : Tatiana Brito-Khan

       

       Virginia Brito XOXO