January 3, 2026
You don’t have to believe everything you think.
Byron Katie
When I was seven years old, I almost drowned. My neighbor rescued me from the bottom of his pool, and while I don’t remember much after that, what I do recall is this: a very deeply held belief that water is not safe for me. And so, for the thirty years that followed, I never brought my face into the water. Not in a bath. Not in a pool. Not in the ocean. I couldn’t. As a result of that fear, I missed out on snorkeling in Bora Bora, scuba diving in Bali, and the quotidian opportunities of swimming growing up.
On May 1, 2024, I woke up and a voice inside me said that that trauma has to go. It can’t stay here. It’s no longer serving you. I listened to it. I enrolled in swimming lessons, and because the ocean wasn’t too far, surf lessons as well. I learned to face my fears head on. I realized that the fear was a only thought in my mind, and that thought had been holding my body back for decades. I could choose a different story, and with that, a deep exhale came over me. In a few weeks, I learned to swim. I felt my courage. I felt my power, deep within, and pulsing through every fiber of my being.
A few weeks later, in June, I saw a house listed for sale that seemed perfect in every way. It had a pool — which a month earlier, would have been a dealbreaker (the first home we purchased in the Bay Area had a pool too, which we promptly removed and replaced with an ADU). But now, the pool was perfectly placed. I bought the house, moved in, and this past summer hosted swim lessons for my kids and a dozen others in the neighborhood, along with weekly pool parties for our friends and family. None of this would’ve happened if I kept believing that old story. I’m glad I chose a new one. My kids, who can’t get enough of the water now, will be someday too.