Page 5 - Q01-2021 Fins Magazine

Editor MERMAID NAME

Finding my name was hard. At a certain
age, you learn to say your name as a way of
with you and it grows as you grow. This is a
Mermaid for all your life. Behind the camera is a MUCH better place to be!
to identifying with the world. This name goes
name you are given and you grow around it.
From school to college to work to family, you
have a story in this name associated with you

I realized when I went through my life
experiences how my name has defined me
to this point. I started out as ‘Susha’. It was
Mermaid. A name that carries a collective of
the only way my toddler brothers could say And with that, it was done. Buffy The
many aspects of my life. A symbol of a time
by Patricia Pastrano Patricia. As we grew, my family evolved into in my life when I became my own person.
traits, costuming, and maybe a sidekick or calling me ‘Patricia’ or ‘Tricia’. In junior high, Given to me by the focus of my life, a child
mascot. I shortened my name to Pat because it was with amazing intelligence limited only by his
shorter to write my name on the headings of
As a performer, it can be the character for school papers. Dubbed ‘Buffy’ by my college lack of certain basic abilities.
event performances or keeping the magic volleyball teammates, they absolutely refuse SWIMMING IN FINS
alive for the younger skeptics that want to to call me anything else. It was a time of fun,
believe. freedom and self-discovery. There were no ***BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER: ***
limits.
As an enthusiast, it is a way to connect past, Please exhibit the utmost
of safety when swimming
present and future self. For many, it is a In 2008, I got the best name ever - Mom. My in a tail. NEVER swim alone.
fruitful exercise as a therapy for evaluating son Tristan, a special child with an innate
yourself and revisiting your life changing ability to cut to the chase, came into the Swimming as mermaid allows a release to
events, good or bad. Recognizing all the world and changed my life. get away from the stresses of daily life.
many things I have adapted to and overcome
is giving me confidence and a sense of With so many names in my life and so many I was fortunate to have an SSI mermaid
accomplishment. roles, I couldn’t choose. instructor and some experienced mers help
Mersonas are created for different sides of I flippantly asked Tristan one day what me on my first swim. I can’t lie. Swimming
was not what I was doing at the start. More
a mermaid. For example, I plan on having my mermaid name should be. I expected like FLOUNDERING on top of the water.
a mersona for my princess mermaid and his typical echolaliia response. I was sure Once my mer-friends coached me how to get
another for my dark siren side. I would be Mermaid Elmo or Merboy Buzz UNDER the water, I got a good solid length of
Lightyear. Instead he surprised me and said,
MERSONA BENEFITS “BUFFFFYYYY!!” swimming and I was HOOKED.
Our world is full of people who are struggling
in all ways. The loss of loved ones, loss of
financial stability, loss of homes, loss of
freedoms and the constant threat of an
invisible enemy are abound.
For me, building a mersona has been

Mermaids are full of abilities and passions. infinitely valuable. This exercise is proving to
One of their strongest abilities is to transform help me pay homage to the people in my life
and adapt to their surroundings. that have passed on. It is helping me identify
who I am and who I want to be.
WHAT IS A MERSONA
A mersona is a mermaid’s character. A Taking stock of the things I have had the
mermaid play on words referencing a privilege of experiencing in my time so far on
mermaid’s persona. How much you do and this fragile Earth we live on. Realizing I need
incorporate is totally dependent on what to do a better job at respecting the world in
you want. Some basics include: mername, my daily actions and taking care of myself.
backstory, conservation platforms, personality El Mar Diving Center in Mesa, AZ My first swim with SSI instructor, Paige Southard.
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