On September 14, 2025, I said something that, at the time, seemed like nothing more than a distant wish: “Next year, that’ll be me there.”
Today I realize that that sentence changed far more than I ever imagined.
It’s been a year since I started swimming in open water. It may not seem like much time, but sometimes I feel as though I’ve lived an entire lifetime within this year. There have been challenges, achievements, fears, doubts, and moments when I surprised myself.
Because the truth is, I was afraid of the sea.
Even though I knew how to swim, I didn’t like going anywhere I couldn’t touch the bottom. Not being able to see the seabed made me uncomfortable. I felt anxious. I felt insecure. And for a long time, I let that fear define my limits.
So when I look back, I don’t just see someone who learned to swim better. I see someone who decided to face what scared her.
Over the past year, I trained with one very clear goal: to complete the Guadiana River Crossing.
I trained on the days when I was motivated and on the days when I wasn’t. I woke up early, pushed myself to exhaustion, overcame difficulties, and imagined crossing the finish line countless times. I really wanted to experience that moment.
But life, like the water, doesn’t always follow the course we plan.
On race day, the current was stronger than I was. I fought against it for as long as I could. I tried to adapt. I tried to find solutions. But eventually, I had to accept that I wasn’t going to finish.
And giving up was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.
For a few minutes, I felt an enormous emptiness. I felt frustrated. I felt sad. I felt like I had failed.
But as my emotions began to settle, I started to realize something.
Failure wasn’t not reaching the finish line.
Failure would have been never signing up.
Failure would have been staying on the shore, watching others do what I believed I wasn’t capable of doing.
Failure would have been letting fear continue to control me.
The truth is that this crossing gave me exactly what I was looking for, although not in the way I had imagined.
It taught me that we can prepare as much as possible and still, there will always be things we can’t control.
But it also showed me that our strength isn’t measured only by the goals we achieve. It’s measured by how we respond when things don’t go the way we want.
Today, I don’t look back on this experience as a defeat.
I look back on it and see a woman who, a year ago, was afraid of the sea and who now enters it with confidence, respect, and the determination to keep going.
And to me, that transformation is worth far more than any medal.
So, if you’re putting off a dream because you’re afraid, because you think you’re not ready yet, or because you don’t believe you’re capable, let me tell you this:
I thought that too for a long time.
But sometimes, the greatest victory isn’t in reaching the finish line.
It’s simply having the courage to start.
And me?
I’ll be back.
Because the story that began with “Next year, that’ll be me there” isn’t over yet.
🌊💙💪🏻
Beatriz Nobre