iana Nyad successfully accomplished her lifelong dream on Monday. The 64-year old woman swam a distance of 110 miles—from Cuba to Florida—and set a new record for the longest ocean swim without a shark cage or flippers.

The swim took a 53-hour toll on the woman’s body. When she reached the end of her swim she was brutally sunburnt, had swollen lips and barely enough energy to speak to the reporters.

She did say this: “We should never, ever give up… You never are too old to chase your dreams.”

Nyad first attempted the swim when she was 28 years old and failed due to fatigue. She didn’t succeed until her fifth attempt due to weather and jelly fish encounters.

Yesterday my dream was to become a fitness model. Today I ate out three times and took the elevator.

Why is it so hard for our generation to set goals and attain them? I’m not suggesting by any means that no one sets goals or that no one meets goals. I’m suggesting that it occurs less often.

I’d say it’s safe to say that everyone here on campus has a dream. Whether or not they’ll be accomplished is unwritten.

It seems so easy to write off our dreams or even highly attainable goals for whatever reason.

It seems to be as simple as forgetting your New Year’s resolution halfway through February (or halfway through January for some).

I think the difference between the baby boomers and us is procrastination. We’re great at procrastinating. Whether it’s our homework or our goals, what’s happening right here and now (such as a text message or YouTube video) always seems to be more important than the next step in achieving our goals.

We could learn a lot from our elders.