Do you ever feel self-conscious at the beach?

"I'm not really concerned about what other people think or what they're looking at or the questions that they have. I'm there to enjoy the company of my friends. They know what I look like and they know my situation; that’s not a concern for me at all. I think I made a conscious decision when I lost my legs that I just was going to ignore people looking at me strange. There's already so much energy that it takes to get through the day that I don’t want to waste any of it thinking about what other people are thinking of me."

What are your favourite things to do at the beach?

"I just like to hang out, read, lay down, and lounge. I have my big hat. I'm there more to look cute and have fun. I remember the first time I went to the beach and actually got in the water after my accident. I got in the water and I was like gross and disgusting and covered in sand and getting knocked down, but it was nice. I was having fun and it was kind of a special moment. But I don't like getting so dirty in the water and the sand.

"This past year, I've had an interesting awakening with my disability where I've started to know more disabled people. I feel like it's okay that I don’t really want to go to the beach and be super inconvenienced by that. When I was younger, I'd push through just to be there so I could be just like everyone else. Like, okay, that’s fine, but you don’t get a medal for that. It's like, I know I can do it, but do I want to do it? So, now I like pools a lot, because I can enjoy things about the beach at pools without doing any of that. If I go to pools, I can be in the water the whole time. There's no issue about sand. I will ride up to the edge of the pool and I jump in. Then, I'm able to swim around and be free. I can enjoy that and really spend my time at the pool experiencing it, instead of, like, watching other people have fun."