RAWW Podcast

RAWW Podcast: Laughter, Healing, & Community in the Waves with Becca!

• Sarah Freeman • Season 1 • Episode 5

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Have you ever felt the embrace of the ocean and found yourself laughing amidst the waves? Meet Becca, a spirited outdoor swim guide whose love for the water is as boundless as the sea itself. On our show, she brings to life the joy and comical relief that water can provide, even in the aftermath of life's harshest storms. Through her story of surviving a car accident, Becca illustrates the profound capacity of water to heal and unite, proving that sometimes, the best medicine is a good swim and a hearty chuckle with friends.

Cold water therapy: a plunge into the depths not just of the ocean, but of the mind. This episode swims through the therapeutic effects of icy waters on mental health, drawing parallels between the shock of cold water and the jolt of a panic attack. Becca shares her personal journey of post-trauma, revealing how the chill of the sea helped her regain control and foster a sense of community. We also tackle the tough stuff, like PTSD and body image acceptance, all while highlighting the power of vulnerability and the strength found in a circle of fellow swimmers.

Wrapping up, we delve into the soul-stirring tales of water women and their connection with nature's aquatic wonders. Becca recounts her memorable encounters with marine life, from the shores of Northumberland to the icy grips of Scottish lochs. These stories aren't just about swimming; they're about breaking through the ice of gender issues, personal empowerment, and the celebration of our shared human experience. So, come on in—the water's fine, and the company's even better. Join us for a swim and discover how water can catalyze a wave of gratitude and growth in your own life.

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Speaker 1:

welcome everybody back to raw podcast. If you are new here, raw stands for rad active water women. First off, I just want to really acknowledge you and thank you for taking the time for yourself for listening to these incredible stories of incredible water women. And today I would love to welcome Becca. She came across me like through the Instagram world and she really put a smile on my face and she has this beautiful sense of humor and loves the water. But I'm going to stop there because I want to bring Becca in here to really introduce herself. Welcome Becca. Oh hi, sarah, thanks for having me. Oh, it's a pleasure.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean, I'm Becca. I'm an outdoor swim guide. I help people get into the water or appreciate the water around them and basically just help other people realize that we're custodians of the water. And doing it silly as well. I like to think that I am qualified to do these things and kind of I'm a lifeguard and all this sort of stuff, but I'm also trying to connect with people in a weird and fun way because that's, you know, that's the joy of life, right yeah, exactly how do you.

Speaker 1:

Can you give us like a little like story of how you've connected with someone or the audience in your, with your beautiful sense of humor that you have?

Speaker 2:

uh, I think in general, I think with my outdoor swimming, I mean, it's kind of infectious. It's one of those things where you'll have those kind of conversations on the side of a body of water that I would not have with anybody else, like it's like even my friends who I've known pretty much all my life. I am more likely to have these like weird and wonderful conversations that I'm just almost caught in it, thinking, wow, I've just met you, but I've just divulged a whole lot of information to you, um, usually about like losing my knickers or forgetting where they are or like just silly things like that. And I think that's what brings out that kind of I don't know that community aspect. For me, it's just like being silly and trying not to take life too seriously, because there's so many elements of the world that are really scary. So that, for me, is how I connect, through silliness and fun, because you know, yeah, there is a place for everything being serious and the hard times, but I just want to make it lighter for people.

Speaker 1:

I love that and it's quite evident. I mean, I'm not with you by the ocean, but I love what you just said, becca, about that, because I can resonate with that as well. It's like when I go cold dipping or swimming in the pool or whatever it is, those conversations that we have are like so open. Yes, exactly, and I love that how you say you lost, you forgot your knickers, you, you forgot your bra. Like how many times does that happen?

Speaker 1:

and that exactly, and it but there's those other layer of conversation that happens to that intimacy, to the connection with the community is quite beautiful. So, yeah, I love that, but thanks for sharing that, becca. So how we're going to start off with the first? Well, that was the first question, but where and how did the love of water come into your life, becca?

Speaker 2:

Well, I mean, I've loved the water for the longest time. I think I've always had this fascination and love of wildlife. It comes a lot from my granddad. My granddad was kind of an ambassador and a warden for a wildlife trust over here and he just kind of had this love of wildlife and I just became obsessed with all things that were living really, and then it turned into a love of the sea and the love of fish and I just I just became completely obsessed by it.

Speaker 2:

Um, while I was at uni I was an aquarium host at my local aquarium. Um, just because I wanted to learn something different and I was the only you know business student amongst a sea of marine biologists and I just fell in love with it and wanted to protect it more and then kind of jumping forward, however many years I, I just had this I don't even know where it really originated. It just kind of this love of the water and being outside and I've always wanted that, ever since I was younger. I mean even picking where I went to university, it had to be a coastal town and then, when it came to some hard points in my life with, I had a car accident and it was involved in a terror attack and all sorts and I developed complex PTSD.

Speaker 2:

And as soon as I had that diagnosis I really struggled with it and saw a documentary about how you could use the water to maybe help you and be an alternative therapy water to maybe help you and be an alternative therapy. So that's how I started getting in. I found a local group with a life coach and she also did kind of guided mindfulness swims and things like that. And that was the first time I got in and it was the first time that I kind of thought oh well, maybe there's more to water than just kind of being a space that intrigues me and that I love, maybe it's also a solace. So that kind of as soon as I got in, it all just melted away from it for me and then, yeah, I just became completely obsessed by it and wanted to do more in it and found I was quite good at it. And then the rest is history really.

Speaker 1:

Wow, thank you for sharing that story and that vulnerability of of past. So what happened? And and so can you can we like literally dive into, like so with the PTSD and the colder waters, like, how can you talk, do you feel comfortable talking about that? How? That's how that's helped you well, for me it's.

Speaker 2:

I mean there's so many different elements to it because there's so many, so much research out there now that even just having that blue space can help our mental health, even that sense of community. After you get out, when we get into cold water, we have different shock responses and that first shock response of you know the um, hyperventilating sometimes, that real and really worried about what your body's doing, worrying about whether it's too cold, whether I should be doing this, all of those sorts of things, all of that can be translated into a panic attack and how you can go about then dealing with a panic attack. When you're on land, you're putting your body in that shock response to be able to train yourself out of these really difficult situations, and for me that's kind of what it was. It was a training ground for me to be able to kind of try and get a handle on these panic attacks but also proving to my body that I could do these hard things, um, whilst also having fun with it, shivering on the side. Shivering on the side can you?

Speaker 1:

can you remember um like when you did your first like, got into you, immersed yourself into that cold water, like how you felt after the first time. Do you remember that?

Speaker 2:

oh yeah, I mean, the first time I got in I was really experiencing a lot of phantom pain. Um, so, not to be too graphic, I had my uh airbag deploy and I had uh airbag burns up both sides of my arms when I had my car accident and when I when, when it came later, when my PTSD was manifesting in itself, it was with phantom pain and it was in those arms and those burns. So my arms, when I was being diagnosed with all of that, was really coming out. So when I got into the water for the first time, your body and your brain can't think of anything else, so it was as if I just it was almost like a complete reset as soon as I submerged into the water.

Speaker 2:

It was just oh, I don't feel that anymore and it was just this kind of aha moment of this is where I'm supposed to be, and then getting out onto the side and just feeling just really connected to myself again, because I just couldn't recognize myself up until that point. So it was just, it was a real, it was an overwhelming sense, I think. Uh, it also happened for me again after Covid and we, you know, we'd been locked away for so long and I hadn't been in the water for so long and just when I got back in again, it was that overwhelming feeling that this is where I was supposed to be, this is what's supposed to be happening, and just feeling at peace. And that hasn't changed from the first time I got into getting in this weekend.

Speaker 1:

Really wow, it's beautiful, thanks for sharing that. It's water really has that healing to it. There's something, yeah, very magical and healing in different ways for everybody, and that that's part of your story. You know, like, wow, thanks for sharing this, and, um, I have goosebumps, absolutely. I.

Speaker 2:

I like, I like to, I like to share all this because when, when I was first diagnosed with PTSD but now we know it's complex PTSD it was very isolating and, uh, in that space of oh goodness judging myself for getting it, and I think, whatever the mental health is, whether you know, and not even mental health, it could just be stress from our every day. I think, as humans, we judge ourselves so much and we see other people online or that people are so perfect, when, for me, I like to share everything, because then people know that you know it's not just one thing, not things are all good or all bad, it's just we're all just full of experience and we've just got to be kinder to ourselves.

Speaker 1:

I couldn't agree with you more.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, and it's you know, I think it was a post maybe you did today, or maybe it was another day, I don't. I didn't look at the date, but it was about body image and I just thought that was thank you for putting that out there and it was beautiful. So, um, yeah, so if I will put your Instagram link on here, so if you're listening to this right now, you can go and have a look at it. And it's just, all of your posts are beautiful. That one really caught me, my attention. So if you're listening to this right now, you can go and have a look at it.

Speaker 2:

It's just all of your posts are beautiful.

Speaker 1:

That one really caught me, my attention, so thank you um. Very brave, so thanks for doing that, and more women need to to read that.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, thank you, it was what it was. Definitely one of those more one of those posts where you kind of start hesitating whether you post it and then you kind of like, okay, well, I'll post it and then throw my phone across the room and then just do it later. But I find the ones that you really challenge yourself. They're the ones that I always get more out of like even writing that and taking those images. It's like I'm pushing myself to process more of all the hard things and hopefully connecting with people along the way.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you are. So all right, let's move on. So I went off in left field. I like to do that, so we'll probably go there again or right, whichever, um so how has um? So I'm not going to say swimming, but maybe it's the water, however you want to take it. If it is swimming, um, ice swimming, it's, you can take it that way helped you move through, and I think we've kind of talked about this. But we can go deeper the stress, the healing, the trauma from your life. So, yeah, maybe take another level.

Speaker 2:

How has it helped? I mean, I don't even know. I think it's just it's so exponentially bigger than me that I think that also helps. When we get into a body of water, it's just like there's so much more beneath the surface, there's so much more that needs to be unpacked. But I mean, you don't necessarily get into water and go. I'm going to explore the entire ocean all at once.

Speaker 2:

So it's almost just like just taking that time and just one dip at a time, seeing how you feel, but just trying to have those, have those questions and conversations with myself along the way. And I think when I get into water, whether I'm dipping, swimming or whatever, it's very much taking the time out for me as well. They're the only times where, like, I feel like my mind calms down and I think a lot of people resonate with that. You know, just having that busy mind of like, oh god, have I done the washing up, or do I need to walk the dog, or do I need to send that invoice, or do I need more work, or you know, there's just so many different things going on that even just having that time out in a day to go to the water, even if it's just walking the dog, I feel 10 times better and.

Speaker 2:

I think that's something that I found that I didn't necessarily think I would like. You think, okay, well, getting in and swimming and doing all these little bits will help, but actually like realizing I don't take enough time for myself was something that was really unexpected for me yeah, and I hear you, and I hear that from a lot of women too you know that they don't take enough time for themselves.

Speaker 1:

Or if they do and there was something about what you just said there that brought something up for me it's the consistency of it too, because if you were just to go in once or twice, but you're doing this consistently right, yeah, yeah, and finding that time for yourself. That can be hard for a lot of women that are listening out there, but you're doing that but you're doing that well.

Speaker 2:

I mean, I'm doing it to a degree, whereas the past the past this year has been really hard for me to be able to do that consistently, because for me consistency looks different as well. Just getting in once a week is my consistency at the minute, but how it used to look was kind of like four or five times a week. So it's it's also trying to not have that battle. It's still consistency, but it's not, you know. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1:

yeah, I totally know what you mean. Yeah, I like that, though, and so it's like so people that are listening to us right now it's like it's consistency can look different for everybody right and one month, it may look different to the other month or the other year, right yeah, I different season, right so and it's giving yourself grace as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, right and that's something that we don't often do. I think there's so much judgment, so much, so much comparison, and I think, even like writing that post today that we spoke about earlier, it was very much. For me. It's always a comparison between myself. That is the damaging thing. It's always like, oh, what I was doing two years ago, what I looked like then or what I was doing then, that actually, but it doesn't matter, it's just the present, it's just whatever's happening now.

Speaker 1:

You know, we just have to give ourself a bit more grace around that if you were to give, like, a piece of advice right now to women that are listening water, women that are having a hard time right now finding that or finding, or giving themselves that grace and that comparison is seeping in like what would it be?

Speaker 2:

comparison is the thief of joy. My brother told me that once and I just thought, yeah, okay, that's definitely something. And I think also we have to take into account our experiences and we're just too hard on ourselves and I mean I'm still talking to myself at this stage. It's very much like I'm still hard on myself day to day and it's just we can only manage what we can manage, and if that is just being able to get out of bed and wash your face, that is enough.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, thank you for that. So, ladies that are listening, please listen to that. Excellent advice, all right. Next question what was one of your best memories you've had?

Speaker 2:

it could be ice swimming, something to do with the water, and just tell us a bit about that memory uh, well, if it's if we're talking around water, I think my best memory is, um, my, so, basically, over here in the uk. I'm a british divers, marine life rescue mammal medic, which is a bit of a mouthful, um, but it's basically when we get injured dolphins or whales or any type of cetacean or we get seals injured along our coastline, um, I'm in a, I'm in an area that is prolific with lots of different things and we basically get a text from head office to say could you go and attend? And I go, yes, and then I go and basically spend some time with whatever animal I come up against and usually kind of do monitoring and make sure they're okay, do initial assessments and then usually either take them to a vet or pass them along to somebody else or relocate them and all this sort of thing. And last year at the start of the year, uh, I had the absolute privilege of uh spending a day with a walrus and my, I know, and as sad as that is environmentally, you know, you know the waters are changing and we shouldn't be getting walruses in the uk and how far away from home they were, but he, he just had launched himself out onto a pontoon in Northumberland in the UK, and I was part of the team that was monitoring his breathing, just to see how stressed he was, check his you know, check his eyes.

Speaker 2:

And I just had my telephoto lens on my camera so I wasn't near him, but it just felt like I had this ultimate connection with another, another species, and just being able to go. This is going to be okay. You know, we're here to protect you and it was just. It's really. I think there's something really wonderful about taking the time and noticing all the little things, and for me, when it came to Thor, it was just that was his name that he was given. Just watching his breath and connecting with him, even through, you know, even through a camera lens, was just something that I'll always remember and always kind of have that memory of. These are the type of creatures that I want to protect and advocate for, because they can't speak for themselves wow, that's a beautiful story.

Speaker 1:

What connection that, um, like mammals and animals, can bring into our lives. And that's a beautiful memory, wow, okay, next question. And then I'm going to go off into left field because I have another question. This came up for me so um on the harder days. How does the water or ice swimming help you move through the tough days, the tough moments?

Speaker 2:

they, they shut my brain, they just basically there's nothing else you can think of. When water's that cold, it's very much like I'll get in and I'll forget how overwhelmed I was feeling, or I won't feel pain or and yes, it comes back. But I think that's very much. That's just a sign of having to deal with things a little bit differently. Or if I get to a stage of such overwhelm, I think I probably should get into water.

Speaker 2:

Um, and at this stage I think it's really good to caveat that with mental health, and especially here in the UK, so many people talk about swimming and how it's kind of the cure, whereas for me I just really don't. I really disagree with that comment. I really I think that it's much more a tool to help us kind of reach out to our doctors, reach out to our friends, ask for help. So I kind of advocate towards, you know, mental health, mental health. Swimming is the tool for mental health, it's not the cure, and I think that's something that I really try and kind of take into my every day, because I remember my first winter as well having that. My reflex was, if I was having a bad day, if I was having a panic attack. I would definitely get into water and know that I needed that reset. But actually after that first winter, when the water started warming up and it didn't have the same zing as it did through the winter, it's really hard and.

Speaker 2:

I don't think that's spoken about enough, because as soon as you miss that kind of really like skin tingling, kind of nerve, nerve blocking experience, when that's taken away from the first time it's, it can be really, really hard, um. So yeah, that's, that's what I have to say about that.

Speaker 1:

I have to agree with you because you know, swimming is it's, it's like ice dipping, like, um, ice swimming or swimming in general being in water is, is a tool, you know, and it's not and I agree with you there because it doesn't, it doesn't heal you. You have to do the other things around it, like you said, like counseling, whatever that may be. But maybe what do you think about this?

Speaker 2:

like maybe it opens up that clarity to be able to make those choices you know absolutely yeah absolutely, uh, but I think we've like, we've got people over here that will be like, oh yeah, I'm getting into my mental health and you're like, yeah, absolutely, but you're getting into kind of, as you say, open up to that clarity, yeah, and try and have a look at yourself inward more, um, which is really hard to do. I think that's another, that's, that's the other thing that the water gave me. It gave me kind of that courage to be able to do that.

Speaker 1:

I love that. Yeah, it does, and the clarity it gives you is pretty amazing. Like even from like for myself, from swimming in the pool, you know, it's just like I can go into that pool having a stressful day and come out feeling better or having creative ideas, you know, because it just kind of washes away. That doesn't eliminate it, but it gives you a different perspective as well. So absolutely interesting. Um so question about I want to go type like into the ice swimming. So how many ice swims have you done? I don't want to say the number and assume this, so I'm going to ask you.

Speaker 2:

Well in terms of ice swimming Mile swims yeah Well, ice mile, I've only done one, and that's the end of that.

Speaker 1:

That's amazing and that was in. Scotland. Right, yes, it was. How cold was it.

Speaker 2:

For me it was 4.83 degrees Celsius. Yeah, that's pretty darn cold, pretty chilly, and then you've. But I've done other ice swims along the way, even in training. I'm regularly training in two degrees, so it was one of those things, excuse me, where, yeah, the ice mile was one of my swims. That was technically ice swimming, but I've done a fair few kind of ice kilometers and things like that along the way too wow, that's amazing.

Speaker 1:

And so are there any like ice swims out there or ice miles that you have on your brain that you want to do, or it's kind of a wish list or a wish.

Speaker 2:

I'd love, I'd love to do an ice kilometer at zero. That's one of the things I'd really like to do, um, but I also know that that's it. I don't have a timeline for that. I definitely want to be um more efficient and in my stroke and more um, I want, I want to take it as a, I think for me with ice swimming and especially with the ice mile, I found out so much about myself during the kind of the lead up to it and the journey towards it that I think I want something else like that, but much more long term, because for my ice mile, I was training for three years. So it's just, yeah, I just want something like that, but something much more tangible, because ice like a kilometer and a mile might not sound that different, but those 600 meters- yeah, it is right.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's funny because, like, I set out last year to do three um kilometer, um like swims, but I did in a wetsuit though. So this is in Glacier Lakes around here and it's it's pretty darn cold. But yeah, I have another goal, but we can talk about that some other time. Nice, maybe you should come out here yes, please.

Speaker 1:

I would love to get up in the alpine, actually here and um, get into the water there, um, but you need to either hike up or you need a helicopter. So, yeah, but, uh, we can talk about that. So if you ever come out here, please look me up, up, oh my God, yes, and I'll take you out. You'd love it here. It's amazing. So one of my last questions, and I just have some fast, fun questions for you. What has water like, taught you to infuse in your everyday life outside of the water, beyond the water?

Speaker 2:

what has water, I think.

Speaker 2:

I think it's it's kind of what I said at the start it's not to take life too seriously, um, and that kind of joy for life and that things are a lot easier when you've got other people around you, um, as the community did for me and continues to do.

Speaker 2:

I think I came to the water for PTSD but I really stayed for the community and the people around me, um, because it's just, I think it's just that camaraderie that you don't get anywhere else, because there's nothing like shivering with mates on the side of a body of water after plunging in like two degree water and think how stupid are we, and that's just, it's just addictive. And I don't and, and you know, it's that whole thing of just for so long, like even going to a swimming pool for me, I felt so self-conscious that now I am much more free with my body and you know, do skinny dips and all that sort of thing, and it's just, it's just all encompassing, it's just not to take life too seriously and just accept it for what it is rather than kind of begrudgingly think that it should be something else.

Speaker 1:

I love it. Embrace the skinny dipping. That's awesome.

Speaker 2:

It's so free oh, it really is um, it does happen around here.

Speaker 1:

I'm not going to say where it does, especially on the full moons. But um so I have some fast, fun questions for you. So do you have a mantra or a quote that you live by?

Speaker 2:

a mantra that I live by, I mean, to be honest, one that is, or then one that I've always gone back to. Um is I've no idea who said it, but it was one that spoke to me kind of back in the day when I first had my car accident, like 10 years ago, um, which was one that was also kind of uh, pinned up on an old boss's wall. Which was one that was also kind of pinned up on an old boss's wall which was we can't control the wind, but we can adjust the sails, and that was one that I really loved as well, as true glory comes not in never falling, but in rising each time we fall.

Speaker 1:

I love it. Thank you for sharing that. Okay, next, fast, fun, fun. So three favorite places you love to go to be in the water ah, three favorite places, I mean there's so many.

Speaker 2:

Um, I'd say uh, lockinch in Scotland, just because I just adore uh, it's just I love it. It's where me and my partner had our first swim, but it's also where we dated. It's where we day-to-day go, it's where, like, I've accepted jobs there. It's just like it's a really lovely place, um, and also cleved to marine lake, which is down south uh in the southwest of england, which is just where I spent so much time and uh did a lot of training there, but it's also where me and my mum swim together.

Speaker 2:

So yeah that's another great one oh, all special locations oh yeah, and what is uh next question post?

Speaker 1:

do you have any post rituals, post swim rituals?

Speaker 2:

uh, post swim rituals uh, wow, I mean, I've got many uh, but usually usually usually involve um beanie hats. I love a woolly hat. There's always woolly hats after Then. It's usually lots and lots of layers, and I always love having a hot chocolate after a swim. That's a big one for me, and if it comes with a slice of massive cake, then that always helps.

Speaker 1:

That helps. That's awesome. One thing you would like to master outside of the water uh, stress management, I think.

Speaker 2:

I think that's. I think that's something that everybody like loves to think that they might harness sometime in their lifetime. Um, yeah, that's something I'd love to be able to, because some of it translates from water to this water, to the land, but that's something that I'd really like to hone in on okay, and what's in your swim bag?

Speaker 2:

goodness me what isn't in my swim bag. I'm very much because, because I'm I'm an open water lifeguard as well. Even if I'm going on a swim on my own, I'm always prepared just in case there's another swimmer who gets into difficulty or like somebody else forgets their goggles or someone forgets a hat. So I've usually got like three or four swim hats in my bag. First aid kit I've usually got two costumes, just in case I have a spontaneous one to double dip. I've got towels and lots of layers so that if I do find somebody else in trouble, I can uh, and then also kind of I've got a big light, a floating light, up light as well that I usually carry around.

Speaker 1:

Um, yeah, yeah, floating light, oh yeah, floating light.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, there's a place in the uk called out kit and they've got this incredible light called bob, because it bobs in the water and it's like a beacon, and me and my friends, the first time she bought one, um, we went for a skinny dip not realizing how bright it was and it was almost like we had this radius around it that we couldn't that's awesome because it was just like oh my goodness, you could see everything. What?

Speaker 1:

was the name of the company, again Becca. Alp kit, so A-L-P kit okay, and it was, bob was the one, yeah look that up. Thanks for that. That's hilarious. Um two more questions, uh, what's the most important, like challenge, uh, that women are facing today? Like what do you see out in the world that?

Speaker 1:

oh my god that is such a big question right, let's say, in the uk, in the, in your community, right in your community I mean, these are massive questions that I've actually been talking about a lot this weekend, um, lots about, I think.

Speaker 2:

I think just being a woman feels rebellious at the moment. I think there's so much that we're up against and I think, for me personally, um, it's everything to do with just how we're perceived how we should act, um, and I think with just how we're perceived how we should act, um, and I think our safety is a huge thing. That comes up, you know, whether we should be swimming alone, whether we should be walking alone, all this sort of thing, um, and that seems to be a big issue, and it's put a lot on women in the uk, um, when, in actual fact, it should be looked at by everybody. Everybody should care, and it was really put down to this one. I think it even it might have come out of america, to be honest, because, um, there was a, there was a video that was being shared about whether people, whether women, wanted to be in the forest with a man or a bear, and all the women were choosing bear, and that says, like, that just speaks volumes for the climate of everything, um, and men feel, and a lot of men feeling like that.

Speaker 2:

That was, um, you know that was generalizing it and that it wasn't, it wasn't the case and that we were wrong. And it was like, okay, well, somebody made another video and asking a man whether he wanted his daughter to be in the woods with a man or a bear, and then he found the difficulty. It's like we always have to, we always have to kind of, uh, redirect a narrative to make it more digestible for a different gender, and it's like that's ridiculous to me. Um, it should just be yes, how can we help? And I think that's something that really sticks with me and grinds my gears. But I think, uh, I, I like to think that I kind of break those barriers, especially when it comes to just talking openly about everything to try and make it easier for others to do the same. I love that. So, yeah, just be more rebellious.

Speaker 1:

Be more rebellious. I love it. I just. I have a friend. Actually, she just came into my life not long ago and it relates to your story here and she just did this incredible like walk. I can't remember exactly what the trail was called, but she went into the us to do it and she did it solo and she it was um 250 something kilometers amazing all by herself, yeah that's amazing.

Speaker 1:

So I uh, thanks for bringing that up. That was yeah. That was yeah, be more rebellious, love it. Okay, I'm gonna keep going um the women, it's like. Who are the women or women that identify as a woman in your life, who do you admire most? And so just maybe just say one person, let's just narrow it down no, that's harder. I mean, if I open the can, then it's gonna be you know, I know it's hard.

Speaker 2:

That's why I'm asking okay okay when we, when we come down to kind of, I think, when it comes down to it, uh, there is uh a woman that I just wouldn't, I wouldn't be the person I am today without, and that's my dear, dear friend, gilly McArthur, who has helped me through so much whether it's been kind of confronting trauma or just, I don't know, just accepting a lot of things with grace rather than judgment, with grace rather than judgment, and her ability to be anything whether I need a life coach, whether I need a job advisor, whether I need an estate agent, whether I like she is kind of embodyful of everything I need in one person and she is incredibly kind with her time and she's just one of those people that you can hang out with and not say a word and nothing changes. She's just absolutely sensational and very talented in herself. So, yeah, that's kind of my one woman that I was really pushed to.

Speaker 1:

You're pushed All right. Last question what brings you the most amount of joy in your life, like today?

Speaker 2:

oh goodness, what brings me the most amount of joy? Um, is it bad if I say my dog? No, because absolutely not. I think, when it comes to so much, there's so there's so many things that I could say, but at the minute, both I'm trying to be more grateful with just those everyday things and for me, the things that bring me joy is just sitting with my partner and my dog, just sat on the sofa having a cuddle and just just kind of mindfully taking snapshots as I do it.

Speaker 2:

And I think, that's something for me that I really find joyful, and that doesn't change whether I'm in a bad mood or whether you know, whether it's wet outside, whether it's dry outside, like there's no kind of external factors of that that changes how it feels. That's beautiful.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for sharing that, becca. Thanks for being on Raw Podcast. It's been an honour to have you on here. Thanks for being vulnerable and sharing your heart and your funny stories as well. Well, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, becca, for being a guest on Raw Podcast.

Speaker 1:

And thank you for everyone for listening to Raw Podcast, for supporting us along this beautiful journey of so many incredible women across the world water women that are sharing their voices, their story, and my hope is that this will trickle into your life as some inspiration to move forward in maybe a dream that you have, that you keep hidden behind that beautiful heart of yours, or something that you're just afraid to take that leap.

Speaker 1:

So I challenge you, as you close off this podcast and turn it off, I would challenge you to start activating those dreams, start to fully embrace your life, to live your life to the fullest. And if you're already there, water Woman, I challenge you to share that outwards into the world, to inspire other Water Women to follow suit in their own authentic way. So thank you everybody for listening to Raw Podcast. What really helps us grow is if you leave a comment or leave a rating for us. I will leave so many goodness of details in my show notes around Becca and including a link to her documentary as well. Thank you everybody. Have a beautiful day and keep being the incredible water women that you are.