September Participant of the Month, Jennifer Peake!
Jennifer was born, raised, and currently still lives in Beckley WV. She attended Woodrow Wilson High School and Concord University. She works for WVPB and has always had a love for radio! In her spare time, she builds Lego sets, cosplay, spends time with her husband and animal babies, takes care of indoor and outdoor plants as well as listen to my favorite bands and watch movies.
Jennifer is active because she wants to feel better. She was pretty active as a kid playing outside, ran track in junior high for 2 years, and took spells off and on through the years where she would go walking multiple times a week. But it slowly fizzled away due to making unhealthy choices as well as being diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, a painful bladder disease that can really be challenging on how you exercise. “This year, I decided that I am not getting any younger and I can overcome those health and lifestyle challenges simply by going slow and taking it one step at a time, ” says Jennifer. She realizes the need to be active for physical and mental health. She was invited to go hiking and try paddleboarding (Which are low impact activities that don’t hurt my bladder) by a good friend, Barbie, who is an Active Southern WV Community Captain and loved paddleboarding so much after a few meet ups that she bought her own! She hasn’t quite gotten to standing yet, but that’s the fun of it! She is slowly making progress and going at her own pace!
Jennifer stays motivated because being active really helps her de-stress. It’s a priority because it helps her mental health so much!
Jennifer says everyone should try an Active SWV free program, “because it is absolutely free! And it’s a great way to try things you never thought you could. You also meet so many wonderful and encouraging people!”
Want to find activity that you can try at your own pace, like Jennifer? Check out the Active SWV website calendar.