Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Abject Terror

So, I had an image of how I wanted today's pic to turned out. I knew what I had to do, and I was excited to try it out. What I wanted was a pic of me underwater, staring up at the camera all dreamy like. You know those ads, model shots, etc, that use that kind of effect. The model's hair all whispy around their heads like a giant halo.

What I got was this:

And the reason for it being? I am deathly afraid of holding my breath under water, AND of opening my eyes under water. Apparently. Even in the relative safety of my bathtub. I was hyperventilating when setting up for this shot (and it took a few tries to get it where the water movement didn't blur everything- and it did not get easier with subsequent shots)

I never learned how to swim. I could barely save my life if rescue was less than 5 feet away. My mother has a fear of the water due to a childhood trauma, and so we never really went to lakes, or to the pool or anything when we were little. Never took swimming lessons, never went canoeing, or rafting, or any of that water-related stuff. So every time I submerge myself, I end up choking on water that gets up my nose. I've never quite learned the trick of "plugging" my nose with my tongue at the back of my throat.

I do have a fear of drowning, but if I can hold my nose closed with my fingers, and keep my eyes closed, I'm relatively ok. But that does not a pretty picture make.

Neither does this, but I've at least learned something about myself.

No comments:

Post a Comment