Jacqui, a Water Warrior
In Jacqui’s words:
“After a fairly topsy-turvy life in a stressful work arena, we retired to Tenterfield for some peace and quiet. Covid struck and during a period of boredom I decided, for no particular reason, to do my DNA. It sounded like fun. Cutting a very long story short, I discovered that my father wasn’t my biological father. After 2 years of searching, I found my siblings, and all was going swimmingly (pardon the pun) until those funny nagging feelings began to creep in. Those feelings that say things like “……well since you aren’t who you thought you were, who the hell are you?” I wasn’t really sure anymore. I was feeling pretty lost about it all, and often lamented the fact that I was aging. I was sad that I could no longer do what I used to do, but not sure what I should attempt to do. My body was tired and sore. I hurt a lot. Not just the physical but the emotional hurt as well.
Then I saw an article about Metaqua. I asked a few people who appeared to be pretty enthusiastic, so I pulled up my big girl panties and decided to give it crack. I so should not have worried. This involved water, right? I’d surfed every day of my school life and beyond. I had a good feeling about this Metaqua gig. Of course, that didn’t stop those doubts sneaking up on me. I was constantly telling myself that I was too old, too fat, too tired, too everything. I was just being silly wanting to do this………….
Then I met Amanda. I so should never have worried nor listened to those negative thoughts. Amanda made everything possible. She is accepting, encouraging, honest, authentic, and unique (all in a good way!).I now just love Metaqua almost as much as I love Amanda. My body doesn’t hurt near as much. My back is improving (Amanda adjusts the strokes to suit your ability and disability). My plantar fasciitis is less painful and even my heart doesn’t hurt so much now. I have an exercise that I enjoy and actually look forward to doing.”
The Water Warrior Project is a joint project of inspiration between Amanda, Metaqua Instructor from @swimminginthefield, and Lara Flanagan, Photographer from My Notes From Gallery, Studio & Store.
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