“There are many reasons why people initially make the decision to get started with acac, and in my case, it was recommended that I begin with acac’s p.r.e.p. program, because I was experiencing near-continuous right knee pain due in large measure to the 258 pounds that I carried on my 5’10” inch frame. While I was just halfway through the program, I was feeling the healthy benefits of the significant weight loss, and was inspired to sign on for a full year’s membership with acac. By then, I had discovered how much I enjoyed the social aspects of an acac membership, found the staff friendly, supportive and personally inspiring, and discovered how much I enjoyed swimming, challenging myself to swim more laps every time I entered the pool. However, for me, it goes way beyond that, and cannot be adequately put into words. For various reasons, I am a person who was less than successful in his professional career, and who has struggled with self confidence and self esteem issues all of my life. Now fully retired, I realized something of a personal renaissance in the wake of both of my parents’ passing, but it was and continues to be my involvement with acac that has enabled me to enrich and enlarge my life, and those of others in my social circle, in incalculable ways. I cannot fully explain what is happening here, but in many ways, I’m just getting started, and I expect that my participation in the many resources available through acac will guide and fuel me on this journey.””