Bronze Mermaids - We're Halfway Through!
Can't you just feel the love and happiness radiating from this photo? Everyone looks so gorgeous and so happy!
The pioneer batch of Bronze Mermaids of the Singapore Mermaid School had a wonderful session today - we hadn't seen each other for a week, so everyone was excited to get to today's double session class!
As an impromptu little surprise, I'd brought along some of my mermaid tops for my girls to try on for a fun little photoshoot. These are tops I've accumulated over the years during the course of my career as a performing mermaid - each top has its pros and its cons, its great points and its eccentricities - so I learned long ago that it was great to have a few tops to use interchangeably. (That, and the fact that I find it hard to resist pretty, siren-esqsue things ...)
Everyone picked a mermaid top to try on, and we spent the first part of our lesson posing for photographs together. Throughout the Bronze Level, the girls have been learning new tips for posing in their mermaid gear, and most of them were completely at ease in front of the camera this time around.
After having a fintastic time with our little photoshoot opportunity, we dove into the water to begin our mermaid lesson. All classes usually begin with the theory session, followed by the swimming session - but we figured that today we'd mix it up a little!
The water was exceptionally beautiful today: clear, pristine, cool, and an absolute joy to swim in. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we had a gorgeous time in the pool. The girls practised their techniques with flotation aids - first the kickboard, then the Finis Alignment board, which I introduced them to today (and happens to be great for working abs and legs!). Following which, we had a blast with several rounds of mermaid games, which saw the girls testing and practising their buoyancy control and underwater vision.
Today's theory session was about the Mermaid's Mirror. Throughout history, mermaids have often been depicted holding mirrors and gazing deeply into them. Why do mermaids gaze into mirrors? What do mermaids see in their depths? The girls learned about the power of the mermaid's mirror, and how we all have the ability to control and create the reality we see in the mirror. We have the ability to resist how society tries to flatten us into homogeneity. We have the ability to say "no, this is what makes me unique, and different, and weird, and wonderful, and I am going to keep it". What you might want to write off about yourself today may be what makes you brilliant and fascinating tomorrow.
The girls rounded off the theory lesson penning handwritten letters to one another - only to be opened later this week! I wanted everyone to receive a letter that they could open sometime this week when they were feeling down. Sometimes there's really nothing like a good, old-fashioned letter from a friend to make your day and brighten a particularly lonely moment.
Teaching these girls has been such a wonderful privilege, and I'm so proud that they've almost graduated as full-fledged Bronze Mermaids! One more lesson to go.
Till the next time, goodbye!
