What do you want everyone to know about today?

 Yusra Mardini.

Imagine you are on a drowning boat — what would you do?

For me and you, it may seem like a question far from reality but for Yusra, the situation was a very tormenting ordeal.

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Yusra escaped from a civil war in Syria in August of 2015.

It was a strenuous journey.

With her sister’s reassuring presence, she boarded a plane from war-torn Syria to Lebanon, from there to Turkey. In Turkey, they boarded a boat to Greece.

The ride generally took about 50 minutes. It was a 10-kilometer ride to the other side.

But not that day. The ride was facing inevitable doom when around 20 people boarded the boat meant for 6 to 7 people.

Twenty minutes into the ride, she found herself and her sister in the water.
The motor of the boat had stopped. The clock was ticking against them.

Yusra, along with her sister and a few other people swam an agonizing 3 hours in the churning oceans, keeping the boat afloat.

Her journey though was far from being over.

Their final destination was Germany. They traversed on foot, in buses, and even with the aid of smugglers.

From escaping a bloody civil war to being the flagbearer of the Refugee Olympic Team in the Tokyo Olympics, she has come a long way.

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A harrowing journey.

Thousands of miles across vast oceans, cities and deserts.

One name. Yusra Mardini. The one who defied limits.

A symbol of hope. An epitome of character.

The one who believed in her dreams.