“Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's impossible, just because it's impossible doesn't mean I'm going to give up” - Brenda Osnaya
We often make life's biggest decisions when we're very young. As is the case for Brenda Osnaya Álvarez , a native of Monterrey, Mexico , who at the tender age of 8 chose to become an Olympic athlete.
Although she had to overcome several obstacles throughout her life, she managed to achieve her goal and is today one of the most prominent figures in Paralympic sports.
Let us summarize their story with this exclusive video note for Theramart:
Read on to learn more about their story with us…
Feeling the wind on his face was his greatest joy.
When she was still a child, her father took her and her brother to choose a sport to practice. One option was figure skating, but the children chose roller speed skating , a discipline uncommon in Mexico but very popular internationally.
She described her passion for this sport, confessing that one of the things she enjoyed most was feeling the wind on her face due to the high speeds she was able to achieve with her skill on skates. The truth is that this young athlete was good at what she did, so much so that she became a national champion on multiple occasions. She even represented Mexico in Pan American club tournaments and Central American youth tournaments.
For Brenda , sport gives her the tools to face life and is a builder of values such as punctuality, discipline, respect, camaraderie, and teamwork .
Healthy competition is part of learning, because sometimes you win and other times you lose, but you should never give up , but rather become stronger and more skillful.
An unexpected twist and a new opportunity
It was 2010, and Brenda Osnaya was at the peak of her athletic career. She was on the rise, achieving success after success in every competition she entered.
Beyond the limited financial support her country offered her, she had projects and goals to accomplish in the future, and she was already planning a timeline for the coming years, and nothing would stop her . However, something unexpected happened that changed her life forever.
It all happened suddenly, while she was heading to a competitive tournament in Puebla, Mexico, which would ultimately lead her to her first world skating championship (Colombia 2010). The van she was traveling in with three fellow athletes and two coaches was involved in a reckless accident when the driver fell asleep.
All of the passengers suffered significant injuries when the vehicle lost control and overturned , but Brenda had the most to lose.
The accident caused a complete T1 L1 spinal cord injury that left her without feeling in her lower extremities and, consequently, in a wheelchair.
There is little chance that she will ever walk again, but she never loses hope.
Her life took a complete turn overnight, as her situation forced her to start over from scratch. Although it was painful, she knew the accident could have cost her her life, but today she had a new opportunity to achieve her goals no matter what.
It would be difficult, but not impossible . Her father was one of her greatest supporters, always by her side, helping her through every therapy and rehabilitation session.
Starting over in his sports career
It was somewhat surprising, because three months after the accident, Brenda began her rehabilitation and started training for Paralympic swimming.
It wasn't easy. She was trying to reinsert herself into the sports world, but the competition was tough. It took a lot of work for her to excel in Paralympic sports, as she had to compete against girls who had a lifelong disability.
Time passed, and almost ten years after that dark day, Brenda is a three-time world champion in paratriathlon , a combination of swimming, cycling, and adapted athletics.
Her family was her main source of support in raising funds so she could participate in all the international sporting events for which she qualified and won awards. She is currently enthusiastically preparing for Tokyo 2020 .
In addition to being an athlete, Brenda Osnaya is a speaker and activist for the rights of women with disabilities.
She also has three professional degrees: Tourism Business Administration, a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Sciences, and a diploma in Municipal Public Administration.
Personal goals and tips for working on your resilience
If you ask Brenda what her personal goals are, she'll tell you she wants to be happy and become a better person every day. She also wants to leave something positive in the world once she's gone.
He advises us:
- Let us be authentic
- That we learn to love our body just as it is
- Let us seek our own happiness
- That we DO NOT allow them to tell us what we cannot do
Obviously, it will take time, but everything should be in our time and in our way, and that's what happiness is all about, Brenda tells us.
Her story has left us thinking about how many times in our lives we “give up,” we freeze, before even trying.
The most important thing we want to convey to you is to fight and persist in achieving your goals. Others may think it's "impossible" or "very difficult," but people like Brenda show us every day that this isn't the case!
Have you heard of Brenda Osnaya? Has her story inspired you? Leave us a comment below—we want to hear from you! And if you think this article could help someone through a difficult time, please share it!
If you'd like to continue learning about life stories, we'll tell you about Yanivé Torres. A tireless athlete who went through very difficult times when hepatitis A derailed her entire future. Get to know her.
Admirable labor !!