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That was the entire premise of NC Mer-Mania. Greensboro has a fun pool and I wanted to share it with my friends. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dancing Fish
This was Tom, Shannon, and me just goofing around with a GoPro while plans were still being made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bmDFgh13Zk
Just go for it. Many people don't even seem to notice and the few that say something usually have a nice comment. I think many of us are nervous at first, but once you take that first swim in public you will see that it isn't really that bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by BubbleNeon
I agree with Dividedbyziro - There is something about swimming around with a tail on that brings out something new in your personality. I feel more outgoing when I am a mermaid. I am not a big fan of kids, but when I am a mermaid I am more than happy to talk to curious kids and let them pet my tail.
It is so fun swimming as a mermaid that it outweighs the worry of what people will think or say. At least for me it does. I get worried before I put my tail on, but once I have it on and I am swimming in the water it is all good!
I really wanna know where our shymer is so we can get them with friends!
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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain
I'm 40 (next month) and I don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks about me playing mermaid. It makes me happy and it makes other people happy. Life's too short to worry about restricting your own joy. :)
Calizaire you are going to be 40? :jawdrop: I thought at most you were in your 20's!
Haha! Thank you! Yes, the big 4-0 is right around the corner. People usually guess me as younger, usually late 20's.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mermaid Alea
Happiness keeps you young! ;)
Nope. I'll be 46 next yr.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mermaid Alea
If you are feeling nervous it definitely helps for your first swim to have a friend accompany you, or try to find some other mers in your area and get them to join you (put a shout out in the appropriate pod group here on mernetwork). Once you have broken the ice so to speak, you will find it much easier to go on your own and will be less self conscious when you know that there is nothing to worry about. Of course it's better and more fun if you can swim with friends or other mers, but as you say that is not always possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by BubbleNeon
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Yep. Throw the rule book and your inhibitions out the window. You don't need them to have fun.
Here's how I got the guts to do publicly swim in a tail: I brought my daughter. You can get away doing anything if you're doing it with a little kid. ;) But however you get there, in the end you'll be glad you did!
Holy cow, that's amazing! I would of put you in your early 20's! Way to go for doing what makes you happy and not worry about what other people think, by the way. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Calizaire
Oh, yes, definitely!Quote:
Originally Posted by mermanRoman117
:blush:
I'm dying. You guys are all so kind. TBH Just kinda acknowledging the problem really helped!
Thank you guys!
@BubbleNeon
I'm in the same boat as you. I've had my tail lying in my closet for at least a month now and the weather is great but I'm terrified to go for my first swim.
Especially with all the tail bans going around, I think I'm scared of people judging me and by extension the rest of the community. Also social anxiety, that plays a big part. Like I know I should just jump in the deep end and do it, but it's so much harder said than done!
I have a really close relationship with our local pool manager, and have always been honest about the tail bans and safety concerns. It helps I think that we were tailswimming before it started getting big enough to ban. She may just be a cool lady too. Honestly the biggest reactions I get are positive or bemused. Only a few eye rolls now and then. Social anxiety's like any other anxiety-- it decreases with exposure! I find it far more awkward when everyone wants to try on the tail too!
ETA people wanting to try on the costume was true when I was a belly dancer, too. I'd come in after a show, literally dripping with sweat, and some girl would beg me to try it on. Eeeeeeeew!!
MerChemi! We have a pod in Melbourne, come and join us!! We meet every Wednesday evening at a Waves Lesuire Centre in Highett! They are totally cool with Mers and if you come swimming with us other mers you will feel totally at home!Quote:
Originally Posted by MerChemi
I know, I hope that somehow I can just throw myself in. I think if I get a couple a friends to do it with me, it will help. [emoji17]Quote:
Originally Posted by MerChemi
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dancing Fish
Do they not understand that it might not fit, or ruin the tail?[emoji33]
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I've swam in a pool for a couple years with a local friend who was fine with me wearing a mertail. One time, I was up at his parents lake house swimming around with some friends of ours. At random, his father's friends came over unannounced. For some reason I froze and was trying to pose myself where they couldn't see I was in a tail. They dove in and swam around, then one of them swam up to me and looked down, then asked "are you wearing a mermaid tail?" They wanted to see me swim around in it and I did.
Of course, this ended up being the last time I've been in a pool with my tail. Think my friend saw me get a bit nervous about it. I was a bit at the time, but now that I've been on these forums for a while, I wouldn't care if that incident happens again. I'd just keep swimming like I normally do.
Mind if I ask why you were so embarrassed at the time?
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