Make a splash and fulfill your inner mermaid fantasies by taking a dive into mermaid swim school in Toronto. View The Vibe’s Ama Scriver tests the waters and gives us a look at one-of-a-kind classes.
I think every little girl at some point in their life wanted to be just like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, at least, I know I did. It was a very real feeling, having mermaid dreams and embracing the whole sea-creature lifestyle.
I had always read about the Mermaid Parade in New York City, which brings together people from around the world celebrating their artistic and creative abilities by becoming their true mermaid self. Since I have never been able to attend, I needed something here in my own backyard that I could tackle to fulfill my own mermaid fantasies, I came across the AquaMermaid.com school that teaches folks how to swim in the water, just like a mermaid. You can only imagine my delight surrounding this.
When I had told some friends about the classes, the immediate reaction was what I expected: excitement and curiosity. The obvious questions were: “Won’t it be difficult to swim with a fin?” and, “Aren’t you scared?” and well, yeah. I had also thought those things but I wanted to throw caution to the wind because, why not? Yeah, I was a bit scared but I was also super freaking excited.
The class takes place in the mornings at the University Settlement pool which is beside OCAD University, so it was super easy to get to. Being a larger lady, when classes like this advertise they are for all folks, they tend to forget us fat people. So you can imagine my surprise when I fit comfortably into their swimwear (or monofin, if you want to be correct) with my size 18/20 body. Now I won’t lie – it took a little wiggling and jiggling but that’s just because well, it’s a fin (which you can actually buy here) and the material is made from lycra. You do the math!
Now the class itself was everything you could imagine from a mermaid class and more. There were approximately 10 other adults of varying swim abilities and often times we would have to pair up to do little team exercises including diving for rings or dolphin kick swim. This class would be great to attend with a friend, but I went alone and made quick friends with Star who was kind enough to share her goggles with me when we had to dive. Trust me, that’s another pro tip I learn: mermaids (who are humans) need goggles. Chlorine sucks.
Ultimately the class was a lot of fun and everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves because as you’re all trying to learn how to be the best mermaid you can be – your guard is let down. The fact of the matter is, you all look kind of ridiculous and you’re all not that great. Good swimmer or not, no one makes an elegant mermaid. That’s kind of the beauty of it.
If you were born to be a half-human-half-fish, you can now pursue your destiny. There are entire communities of mermaids waiting right at your local pool. You don’t have to take my word for it, you can sign up for yourself. Towards the end of the class, I just kinda sat on the edge with my fin in the water as you’re meant to, flopping my tail around and it felt natural.
Perhaps the mermaid life is the life for me.
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Have you tried AquaMermaid classes? What was your experience like? Let View The Vibe know in the comment section below or tweet us at @ViewtheVibe.
