Becoming an Enthusiast 10: A New Normal

[ReservedEnthusiast]

Welcome to chapter 10 of Becoming an Enthusiast! Don't forget to read chapters 01 through 09 first!

The usual reminder: this story is completely true and not embellished or exaggerated in any way. You can enjoy this saga as a true-to-life adventure of experiences and emotions.

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Part 1

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After a hard goodbye, Aaron left for the summer. Most of the house scattered to different summer jobs or returned home after graduating until just a few of us remained. I was still working in town, and my tuition and fees had apparently paid for my membership at the rec center for a full calendar year. So, I was able to continue going for weight training and swimming throughout the summer.

By early July, I had adjusted to wearing a speedo without any further trouble or anxiety. I started by wearing my towel around my waist until I had claimed a chaise lounge and pool lane for myself. Then, I’d only be exposed for a few seconds until I jumped in the water. Gradually, I began to simply carry my towel over my arm, holding it in front of my speedo with goggles in hand. Finally, by late July, I stopped caring completely. I even felt confident enough to go back inside the locker room without a towel, dripping wet and straight out of the pool, to use the bathroom before continuing my workout. That was the point when I REALLY felt like a true swimmer, funnily enough: wet, without a towel, simply walking around and going about my business in the locker room or on the pool deck. Wearing a speedo had finally become a normal thing, and it was so freeing. I felt more comfortable in my own skin. Most of all, I loved that post-swim feeling where your skin and muscles feel taught and your soul feels calmed after a therapeutic soak and workout.

Every once in a while, I’d be able to spend some time tanning after my swims to try and rid myself of the horrid farmers tan on my arms and the shorts tan on my legs. Of course, I sometimes lost track of time or even fell asleep in the comforting sunshine, so I’d go home and discover my pasty white skin had turned as pink as a breast cancer awareness ribbon. Then would follow a week of absolute agony as I had to rub myself down with aloe vera day and night!

Eventually it came time to pack for my year abroad which led to a somewhat awkward situation. I had done laundry and was packing clothes in my suitcase with my mom’s help. Suddenly, my mom moved some clothing and unearthed my Home of the Fast kelly green speedo! “…What?” is all she managed to say in her surprise.

“OH!” I laughed nervously and quickly tried to formulate a cohesive explanation as to why I had it. “Remember back when we were shopping for a new suit that didn’t have a lining? Well, I finally bought some briefs to wear underneath, and these were the only ones on sale!”

“Oh, ok, that makes more sense,” she replied, no longer worried about why her very reserved, conservative son had a super flamboyant swimsuit. I packed it away without further incident or questioning.

And with that, I moved to Italy.

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Part 2 is almost ready to share. It may even be up by the end of the day! We'll see!