You're swimming. Your arms cut through the gentle wakes as a slight breeze ripples over you, the hair on your arms standing on end. Your head bobs above the water to breath for a split second, before submerging back under rhythmically in between strokes. Your thoughts seem to be racing, about nothing in particular, but concentrating on your breathing helps you stay on track. The sun beats down on your back and you find the seagulls cawing overhead to be pacifying. You don't really know where you're going, but there's something beyond what you can see. It's calling to you. All alone, you yearn for something more, something that exceeds your every expectation. In the back of your mind, you know that with every stroke you are that much further away from the shore. Soon enough, the shore will be a tiny strip of land gleaming in the distance. But you don't care, because surely there is something out there that will lead you in the right direction. You enjoy the freedom of the open sea, the endless possibilities and potential discoveries. You know there may be ferocious sea creatures lurking underneath you, but you're safe if you keep swimming. To you, this is uncharted land, the further out you swim, the further you are from your comfort-zone.
People always tell you to strive for your dreams, to hold onto convictions that seem near unfathomable. But what if they're too monumental? What if the things you desire are impossible, why even waste your time? You begin to second guess yourself, you probably aren't capable. With that mindset, suddenly the mood shifts, and you become paralyzed. The chilling water used to bring comfort, shocking you in the most pleasant way, like jolts of energy. But now it feels foreign, you feel lost and have no sense of direction. You begin choking on the water as you realize you don't even know how to swim. It was a trance, your false confidence sheltering all of your insecurities from reality; but now the truth comes to light. You struggle to stay afloat, you have lost sight of the shore and don't even know which direction it is. You start to panic, flailing your arms around frantically. What were you thinking, swimming so far away from the shore? It's been too long, you're exhausted, there's no way you will survive this. You begin to give up, your eyes fluttering shut as you begin to sink to the ocean floor. Your long locks of hair drift majestically up above you. With every second, you're beginning to lose consciousness, your existence slowly fading away. Everything around you turns black, and you believe that's the end. There is no way to come back from this.
With your eyes closed, you suddenly feel something on your finger tips, it's wet and gritty. You can hear the roar of the waves, and feel it against your toes, but are confused. You drowned, the water engulfed you like a blanket. You scrunch your eyes together and throw your arm over your face as the blackness starts glowing bright orange. You start coughing and slowly sit up, gradually becoming aware of your surroundings. Peaking out of the slits in your eyes, you realize you're once again sitting on the beach. You washed up on the shore like a dead fish- but you're still alive! Slowly you stand up and gaze out at the waves rushing in. It was a battle, maybe not a victory, but a milestone. You survived and feel empowered, like you can do anything. You realize it's not about how many victories you have, it's about how many times you failed and were able to get back up. You will swim out into the unknown again tomorrow, because you're no longer afraid of failure.
