Member-only story
How To Not Feel Judged
It’s all in your head
People probably aren’t judging you in the way you think they are. Let me explain how I know this.
I have recently taken up swimming and it has opened my eyes to a whole new world!
Who has hair?
I was neurotic about removing body hair before swimming. I generally wear trousers most of the year and have been slowly turning into an orangutan over lockdown — so shaving felt like a big thing.
When I got to the pool there was a guy with lots of tattoos holding a young lady with profound learning disabilities. I noticed them because they stood out. The only swimming available at that time of day was lane swimming. The young lady couldn’t swim and the man was walking lengths, carrying her. I was impressed with how attentive the man was and wondered whether people misjudged him because of the tattoos. The next thing I noticed was the young lady’s foot. It was sticking someway out of the water at an apparently impossible angle. Joined to the foot was a very hairy leg. Hairier than mine could grow.
What struck me was how these thoughts made me feel. I was glad that the lady could access the pool, pleased that the man with her could support her so well and surprised at how high she could get her foot without drowning.
