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Drench. Un-learning my fear of water
🕑 Added 2025-09-19 16:00:13 +0000 UTCBy https://www.instagram.com/corygoldbergphotography
A preview of one of the most mentally challenging shoots for me. Full set will be in Be Special tier in a few days
I was always intimidated by water. I couldn’t swim as a kid (though I tried every summer), and it made me feel shy around large bodies of water. I was always expecting people to throw me into a pool just to make fun of me for not being able to swim. (It actually happened twice. They didn’t mean any harm, but in my mind it felt like they were exposing my weakness.)
As a model, I sometimes also felt “not good enough” because I couldn’t do those perfect floating poses in the water, or the beautiful underwater diving shots. While watching Tyra Banks and her Next Top Model show, I always know that if I were one of the contestants, the underwater shoot would be one that I fail. (Years later I almost did this show, I was pre-selected for Polish edition, but then eventually the plans had changed)
I thought it would always be this way—that “non-swimmer” would just be part of who I was. But over the last years, I’ve made huge progress. I realized that not being afraid of water is a skill, just like overcoming a fear of heights (which I mastered a long time ago).
Earlier this year in Bali, I did some underwater shoots. I went from the classic “eyes shut, nose pinched, cheeks puffed with air” to a fully relaxed face with open eyes.
Now, I don’t mind water on my face at all. And when Cory asked me to be part of this amazing series, I didn’t overthink it for a second.
I’m so happy with how the images turned out, and I’m really proud of my progress.
The full set will be out in a few days—and there are so many powerful images!
