"It's been thrilling" sums up Diana Nyad's journey to swim from Cuba to Florida, retelling her accomplishments, hardships and stories in her TED Talk "Never, ever give up".
Nyad begins on the Cuban shore, remembering the last four failed attempts she had to reach Florida, and she was proud of them. No swimmer had ever accomplished that feat until that point. She talks about her team, and its head, which happens to be her best friend Bonnie, who "summons... the last drop of will in me" she says. Nobody believed Nyad could finish her dream, whether it be scientists, neurologists or even her own team, but through all of that, Bonnie believed in her, telling her that "I'm going to see you through to the end of it". Nyad then began her swim, stating that for the first 53 hours, the experience was "awe-inspiring", because her team, including her, weren't allowed any sort of lights, because they attract predators and jellyfish, which, in the Gulf Stream Nyad was swimming in, were the deadliest jellyfish in the world. Then, after singing John Lennon's "Imagine" a thousand times, she had "swum nine hours and 45 minutes". At that pint, Nyad began hallucinating, seeing the Taj Mahal in front of her. Additionally, she started suffering from hypothermia and abrasions in her mouth from her jellyfish mask. Bonnie, seeing her struggle, gave her a glimmer of hope, telling her to look to the horizon, and see the lights that weren't from the rising sun, but from the lights of Key West. Nyad then used her last reserves on the last 15 hour stretch to Florida. When she reached the shore, all of the rehearsals she had done up to that point for when she reached the shore, was boastful. It was totally different from when she actually reached it, saying to "never, ever give up", you can chase your dreams at any age, and that her swim was the "most solitary endeavor in the world."
After watching her talk, I can safely say it was one of the best TED talks I've watched ever. Nyad delivered her talk, lacing it with humor, but filling it with inspiration and a strong message to everyone. The first message she said was that, life is about the journey more than the destination. Her second message was, to take advantage of the time you have left in this life because "we're all on a one-way street" she says. Nyad's final three messages, to me, are the most inspiring. The first of the three says to "never,ever give up" and keep your dream alive. The next one says that you can chase your dreams at any age, because Nyad was 60 years old at the time, and she had started the endeavor at age 20, when no one a done it yet. Nyad's final message was "it's not so much what you get as who you have become in achieving them." stated by Henry David Thoreau, saying that life's not always about the goal rather what you have become and accomplished and achieved as a person.
In conclusion, after watching Diana Nyad's TED talk "Never, ever give up", I've taken her as a role model, and her words as the foundations of all of my future endeavors, whether they be materialistic, spiritual or social, and I recommend you do the same.
Nyad begins on the Cuban shore, remembering the last four failed attempts she had to reach Florida, and she was proud of them. No swimmer had ever accomplished that feat until that point. She talks about her team, and its head, which happens to be her best friend Bonnie, who "summons... the last drop of will in me" she says. Nobody believed Nyad could finish her dream, whether it be scientists, neurologists or even her own team, but through all of that, Bonnie believed in her, telling her that "I'm going to see you through to the end of it". Nyad then began her swim, stating that for the first 53 hours, the experience was "awe-inspiring", because her team, including her, weren't allowed any sort of lights, because they attract predators and jellyfish, which, in the Gulf Stream Nyad was swimming in, were the deadliest jellyfish in the world. Then, after singing John Lennon's "Imagine" a thousand times, she had "swum nine hours and 45 minutes". At that pint, Nyad began hallucinating, seeing the Taj Mahal in front of her. Additionally, she started suffering from hypothermia and abrasions in her mouth from her jellyfish mask. Bonnie, seeing her struggle, gave her a glimmer of hope, telling her to look to the horizon, and see the lights that weren't from the rising sun, but from the lights of Key West. Nyad then used her last reserves on the last 15 hour stretch to Florida. When she reached the shore, all of the rehearsals she had done up to that point for when she reached the shore, was boastful. It was totally different from when she actually reached it, saying to "never, ever give up", you can chase your dreams at any age, and that her swim was the "most solitary endeavor in the world."
After watching her talk, I can safely say it was one of the best TED talks I've watched ever. Nyad delivered her talk, lacing it with humor, but filling it with inspiration and a strong message to everyone. The first message she said was that, life is about the journey more than the destination. Her second message was, to take advantage of the time you have left in this life because "we're all on a one-way street" she says. Nyad's final three messages, to me, are the most inspiring. The first of the three says to "never,ever give up" and keep your dream alive. The next one says that you can chase your dreams at any age, because Nyad was 60 years old at the time, and she had started the endeavor at age 20, when no one a done it yet. Nyad's final message was "it's not so much what you get as who you have become in achieving them." stated by Henry David Thoreau, saying that life's not always about the goal rather what you have become and accomplished and achieved as a person.
In conclusion, after watching Diana Nyad's TED talk "Never, ever give up", I've taken her as a role model, and her words as the foundations of all of my future endeavors, whether they be materialistic, spiritual or social, and I recommend you do the same.