There is... nothing greater than touching the shore after crossing some great body of water knowing that I've done it with my own two arms and legs.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the satisfaction and pride of achieving a significant challenge through personal effort.
Diana Nyad's quote reflects the profound sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming a great challenge, such as swimming across a vast body of water. It emphasizes the importance of hard work, determination, and resilience, showcasing the joy and fulfillment that arise when one reaches their goal using their own strength and capabilities, ultimately highlighting the journey as much as the destination.
In practice
During a graduation speech to inspire students to follow their dreams.
You have a dream and you have obstacles in front of you as we all do. None of us ever get through this life without heartache, without turmoil, and if you believe and you have faith and you can get knocked down and get back up again and you believe in perseverance as a great human quality, you find your way.
In swimming, especially training out in the ocean and open water, you got fogged-over goggles, you're stuck with your own thoughts - there's great benefits to that, deep thinking like that after many hours, but there's also tremendous loneliness. You burn out. You want to run, jump, ski, do anything. So at age 30, I was finished.
Every human being on this planet has their pain and their heartache and it's up to all of us to find our way back to the light.
I am willing to put myself through anything; temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level.
I swam. We made it, our team, from the rocks of Cuba to the beach of Florida, in squeaky-clean, ethical fashion.
I grew up in Florida, so you start swimming at the age of 1, really. By 10, I was competitive swimming, and by 12, I had aspirations to be the best in the world.
The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity.
The other reason that I am here today, again from the State Department and from the court record of the court of appeals, is that when I am abroad I speak out against the injustices against the Negro people of this land.
In professional work - certainly in the arts and graphics - 99% of people have zero courage. They blow with the wind.
We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear. That old law about "an eye for an eye" leaves everybody blind... The time is always right to do the right thing. Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
Many young people, many children, are being abused, being put down, being bullied because of their sexual orientation.
No onslaught more fierce was ever seen in the savage world of beasts, where some desperate small creature armed with little teeth, alone, will spring upon a tower of horn and hide that stands above its fallen mate.
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