During my run today, I found myself facing a hill that was more daunting than the rest. It was long and steep, rocky and littered with roots just waiting to trip me up.

Without any prompting, I thought, Just keep swimming.

Yes, it’s a quote from Finding Nemo. Yes, it’s a movie for kids.

But for that moment — for this day, when tragedy and hate strike again — those words were so fitting.

Just keep swimming.

On days likes these, it can be hard enough to just keep treading water, let alone swim. But it’s when you stop moving, when you stop treading water, that you find yourself drowning.

And that’s what any enemy wants you to do. To stop trying. To give up. To stop moving forward.

The only way to make it up a hill is to take one more step. And one more. One more.

Sometimes that step is a step of faith. Sometimes that step takes all the willpower we have in us.

Sometimes that step is a step to prove to those haters trying to instill fear in our lives that we will rise above. That we will reach the top of the hill.

That we’ll keep swimming and keep moving forward.