Mermaid Morgann
08-20-2014, 11:07 AM
Fabric tails can make little girls wide-eyed as easily as fancy silicone ones can. I recently learned this lesson myself.
I was one of those idiots who thought "I don't need a fabric tail! I've been doing this for years! I'll be fine." Luckily for me, the universe was a bit kinder. I found a sponsorship with my father who struck a deal with me (if I lost some weight and got in shape, he would pay for my entire silicone dream tail) so I went ahead and did the work. I ordered the tail from Merbella's and it is due to arrive some time in approximately two weeks (I cannot wait!!). However, I'd never actually swam in a tail before, or even a monofin. I thought my many years of training on the swim team would be enough. I naturally swam like a mermaid underwater, could sink and float using the angle of my body, and felt like I was the rare exception to the rule that you shouldn't get a full silicone tail for your first time.
My family invited me to go to Bora Bora with them, and I realized the trip was a few weeks before my tail was scheduled to arrive. Disappointed that I couldn't be a mermaid in such a wonderful, tropical place, I went online and ordered myself a pink Fin Fun mermaid tail and monofin so that I could be some sort of mermaid while there. The tail arrived a bit early and I was swimming in it a bit to get used to things. It's very different not having feet free to maneuver! I got used to it but found that I got tired pretty fast while in the tail. I was not in as good a shape as I had thought. I began to work more to strengthen the muscles, I went to Bora Bora and tested myself by navigating reefs, and I am proud to say I've come a long way.
Lengthy backstory aside, I now want to get to why I have such a deep appreciation for beautiful tails of all materials. I was swimming at a local pool with Mermaid Nautia, who was going to photograph me for some mock pictures to upload to our site for Comic Con. I got into my tail and swam a few practice laps, thinking no one would take much notice since it was clearly fabric. I was wrong. Two young girls, ten and eleven, watched in wonder as I swam back and forth. Nautia pointed them out to me so I swam over and struck up a conversation. They were awestruck. I let them touch my tail and they told me "Eww" because it was "slimy" kind of like a fish. I've come to realize that children are so much more open to the magic around us than we are. I was a non-believer mermaid and then I met these two. A third friend came along a bit later, and for two hours the three girls plus me and Nautia talked all about mermaid life. There were a few close calls when I had to get out of the pool and when I had to change out of my monofin, but I improved some convincing bits that the girls believed. I talked about how my tail was sloughing off like snakeskin because of all my exposure to chlorine, and soon I would have a new tail that they could see. I showed them the gap in the bottom that was "skin" peeling away, and we had fun guessing what new color my tail would be. It was wonderful! I didn't get a chance to take the photos as I had intended, but I had the chance to make three girls see a bit of magic in their local pool.
In a few days when they're at the pool again, I intend to go back and give them some shell and pearl necklaces I'm making. Fingers crossed they like them! And soon, once my real tail comes, I'll go back there and show them the new tail I have developed! I'm hoping they'll like it as much as I do.
I was one of those idiots who thought "I don't need a fabric tail! I've been doing this for years! I'll be fine." Luckily for me, the universe was a bit kinder. I found a sponsorship with my father who struck a deal with me (if I lost some weight and got in shape, he would pay for my entire silicone dream tail) so I went ahead and did the work. I ordered the tail from Merbella's and it is due to arrive some time in approximately two weeks (I cannot wait!!). However, I'd never actually swam in a tail before, or even a monofin. I thought my many years of training on the swim team would be enough. I naturally swam like a mermaid underwater, could sink and float using the angle of my body, and felt like I was the rare exception to the rule that you shouldn't get a full silicone tail for your first time.
My family invited me to go to Bora Bora with them, and I realized the trip was a few weeks before my tail was scheduled to arrive. Disappointed that I couldn't be a mermaid in such a wonderful, tropical place, I went online and ordered myself a pink Fin Fun mermaid tail and monofin so that I could be some sort of mermaid while there. The tail arrived a bit early and I was swimming in it a bit to get used to things. It's very different not having feet free to maneuver! I got used to it but found that I got tired pretty fast while in the tail. I was not in as good a shape as I had thought. I began to work more to strengthen the muscles, I went to Bora Bora and tested myself by navigating reefs, and I am proud to say I've come a long way.
Lengthy backstory aside, I now want to get to why I have such a deep appreciation for beautiful tails of all materials. I was swimming at a local pool with Mermaid Nautia, who was going to photograph me for some mock pictures to upload to our site for Comic Con. I got into my tail and swam a few practice laps, thinking no one would take much notice since it was clearly fabric. I was wrong. Two young girls, ten and eleven, watched in wonder as I swam back and forth. Nautia pointed them out to me so I swam over and struck up a conversation. They were awestruck. I let them touch my tail and they told me "Eww" because it was "slimy" kind of like a fish. I've come to realize that children are so much more open to the magic around us than we are. I was a non-believer mermaid and then I met these two. A third friend came along a bit later, and for two hours the three girls plus me and Nautia talked all about mermaid life. There were a few close calls when I had to get out of the pool and when I had to change out of my monofin, but I improved some convincing bits that the girls believed. I talked about how my tail was sloughing off like snakeskin because of all my exposure to chlorine, and soon I would have a new tail that they could see. I showed them the gap in the bottom that was "skin" peeling away, and we had fun guessing what new color my tail would be. It was wonderful! I didn't get a chance to take the photos as I had intended, but I had the chance to make three girls see a bit of magic in their local pool.
In a few days when they're at the pool again, I intend to go back and give them some shell and pearl necklaces I'm making. Fingers crossed they like them! And soon, once my real tail comes, I'll go back there and show them the new tail I have developed! I'm hoping they'll like it as much as I do.