From the Cover: Julie Hayes Says I Am of the Sea

Editor's Note: Women like Julie Hayes are what I call true trailblazers. They don't just light the way for others, they set the entire path ablaze with courage, a strong voice, passion, and undeniable strength. They don’t simply walk ahead; they carve new roads with fire forged from their own healing, heartbreak, and hope.  

I first discovered Julie Hayes just before Mother’s Day last year. We were preparing our very first issue when she posted in our group. Her words immediately caught my eye—not just because of how beautifully they were written, but because they came with a photo that was, well, a little cheeky (yes, her bottom was bare). I laughed, Meta had opinions, and when the photo was included in our Mother’s Day tribute, Google (we used Google Drive to share the magazine then) had plenty to say too. So, we gently covered the photo. But her light and voice stayed strong. 

Then Julie shared Get In the F*cking Water, Julie and And My Voice Came Out. That’s when you really see it. The depth of a woman who has walked through fire and came out shining. Women like her blaze the paths ahead of us to show us very simply, we are women, we are strong.

We are shaped by the stories we are told and the ones that we tell ourselves as a result of these. For a long time I looked at my body and saw flaws. I saw stretch marks that came with life and time, the lines carved by laughter and growth . the lumps and discolourations from the sun. Then I changed the lens that I looked at myself through.

Now I see the Sea.

My stretchmarks ripple like sunlight on the water – bright , alive , unashamed. My eyes bordered by dunes that shift when I laugh , evidence of tides and joy. Maps made by mirth and sand swept valleys where joy runs deep. My body is not a battlefield or an aging thing – it is a coastline , sculptured by years of emotional waves and weather.

I am not surface, I am swell and undertow , depths that no compass can measure , places no man has reached . I am not less because I change – I am more. Like the ocean I contain multitudes. I contain life , salt ,silence , storms. I age as the sea ages – with wonder , with wildness , with grace.

And so I redefine beauty. Not in symmetry or stillness, but in movement. In memory. In tide. I am not something to be smoothed or silenced. I am from the sea- and in that truth , I find peace , pride and power.

Julie's piece from last year is below: