It's not uncommon in times of uncertainty to seek comfort in the familiar.
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For Lucy Hofman that is water polo.
In the post-HSC craziness and anxiety of sifting through university offers, the long time Tamworth representative has found an escape in being back in the water.
She had taken a bit of a step back while she concentrated on her studies.
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"It kind of grounds me, that's why I got back into it," the Tamworth High graduate said.
For the moment working as a pool lifeguard and also doing some labouring with her father Sean's electrical company (Eco Energy & Solar Solutions), the end goal is to be a paramedic.
It's just what path she takes to get there.
"There's so many ways I can do that, it's just deciding," Hofman said.
"That's why I thought I need to get back into polo, so I have something I know in my life while I'm so confused and it's a bit crazy."
'Polo' has been a big part of Hofman's life since before she was old enough to play with her dad a stalwart of the Tamworth association.
"It's been a love-hate relationship," she conceded.
"I've gone through stages where I'm like this is what I want to do, and other stages where I've just pushed too hard and I've had to drop back a bit."
"But I just love competing; it's my passion to compete and do my best."
Consistently featuring in rep sides, on the weekend she took her first step into the national league waters, making her debut for the Hunter Hurricanes women in the newly-formed Sydney Super League.
Involving the NSW-based National League teams, the competition was instigated to provide the country's elite players with some top quality competition.
The National League itself is then scheduled to be played in Brisbane from March 31 - April 7.
The Hurricanes were well-beaten, going down to Sydney Uni 22-8, but Hofman enjoyed it.
She had played with a lot of the side before, so it wasn't that big a transition.
"It was fun to get back into it," she said.
It's something that had been in the pipeline for a while but for one reason or another hadn't eventuated until now.
Hofman felt she went pretty well.
"I've been out of the water for a bit so it was a bit more about getting in, getting the movement going," she said.
"Next game I want to progress forward, work on my shooting and stuff like that."
She shied away from that a bit, just wanting to find her feet in the team.
With her work, she can't get down to Newcastle for training, so has to do a lot of training herself.
She does cross-fit daily and swims three times a week.
Good friend Mikayla Gross is also part of the Hurricanes side, Hofman staying with her on the Central Coast on the way down and back.
The Hurricanes play the Balmain Tigers in round three this Saturday.
