Brazilian actor and former ballerina Carol Nakamura has many privileges in her life thanks to her career success.
So she tries to give back to the community whenever she can. That’s what she was doing one day when she encountered a little boy who would forever change her life.
An Unexpected Meeting
In 2019, Nakamura visited a poor community in Rio de Janeiro where the children didn’t have much to go on every day.
Many of them didn’t go to school or have basic necessities, so Nakamura was hoping to lift some spirits with her visit. But then she came across a nine-year-old boy named Wallace.
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Wallace was hanging out by a dumpster, and something about him struck a chord with Nakamura. According to AmoMama, Wallace had never gone to school but dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. As the actor learned more about this little boy and his history, she knew she wanted to help.
So she stayed in touch with Wallace and, that Christmas, she invited him over to her house to celebrate.
A Magical Holiday
That Christmas, Wallace had one of the most wonder-filled days of his life. Nakamura gifted him toys and other gifts, and his eyes grew wide at the furniture and amenities. “Does this water fall from the sky?” he asked at one point when he turned on the shower, according to Clarín.
Nakamura wanted that wonderment to continue and knew she wanted to keep putting a smile on the boy’s face. So she began the paperwork to adopt Wallace from his maternal mother in his hometown. She also asked for permission to enroll him in school for the first time.
Eventually, Nakamura and her partner Guilherme Leonel took the boy in full-time, although he would occasionally go back to live with his biological mother for periods, according to NewsBulletin.
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The biggest surprise for Nakamura, however, was how much this little boy taught her about life.
“He taught us a lot, especially to be grateful. There are people who don’t even have something basic. When he took an elevator or used an escalator, he was surprised, thinking it was a toy,” Nakamura told Clarín.
“The first time he ate a cheese bread was after nine years! What you call ‘basic’ is much worse for other people. This made me understand the importance of simple, small things; to be listened to. It taught me to be more grateful and stop complaining about life. Wallace completely changed my life.”
A Short Time Together
While Nakamura wanted to help Wallace and felt like a mother figure to him, Wallace decided to return to live with his biological mother when he was 12. The child hasn’t spoken about it publicly and Nakamura is sad he made that decision, but she understands that it was his to make.
“We always sat down and talked a lot, but unfortunately, that was it. I’ve cried, I didn’t understand, but it was no use. All I can do is accept it,” she told NewsBulletin last year. “When I was younger, I didn’t have any money, it was all very basic. I let him choose everything, and that was it… I bought a uniform… It’s sad.”
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These days, Nakamura is a fur mom to dogs, but she hasn’t forgotten the impact one little boy had on her life — or how she used to take things for granted.
“I always said that I can have five children, but none would love me like Wallace, and I would love like I love Wallace,” she wrote on social media, as per E! News. “The feeling is that a piece of me is gone, and there is an emptiness. But we need to respect! Not always the best for us is the best for each other.”
Honoring What We Have
They say people come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Well, that adage definitely seems to apply to the relationship between Wallace and Nakamura.
While Nakamura was heartbroken that the little boy no longer wanted to live with her, she couldn’t be upset at him for wanting to return to his hometown and biological family, either.
She also recognized that he came into her life for one very big reason: to show her just how much she has to be thankful for in life, and not to take it for granted.
It can be hard to accept when someone leaves, but as Nakamura reminds us, maybe there was a reason they came into our lives in the first place. Perhaps there is a lesson or a reminder we need to take away with us as we continue down our own paths.
At the end of the day, one of the biggest things this story reminds us is that it’s always best to be kind — not only to others but also to ourselves. Yes, a simple act of kindness may forever change someone else’s life. But it could also change yours if you’re kind enough to yourself to accept why and how.
