The JavaScript That Gave Me

Seven years separate the first photo — in a little rented house in Carapicuíba, no sofa, playing Super Nintendo games on an old computer — from the second: Jungfraujoch, the top of Europe.

I want to share something I've always believed, but that took on a special meaning this past year.

Since childhood, I heard stories about my Spanish grandfather, who came from the war and settled in Brazil. I dreamed of seeing the old continent, but it always felt far from my reality.

In Erick Wendel's words, making this dream come true is part of the series 'the JavaScript that gave me'.

The Denis of the last decade, who began this journey, dreamed of visiting his grandfather's country. In 2022, eleven years after writing my first variables, I took my first plane trip — a 36-day Eurotrip through Italy, Greece, France, Switzerland and, finally, Spain. With me were my wife, my two children and my mother.

Near the end of the trip, my cousin took us to the town where my grandfather was born.

Seeing my mother moved to be where her late father had lived, all the effort, the sleepless nights, the missed birthdays and the celebrations set aside finally made sense in that moment.