Got Naked in Public

Accomplished the week of Jan. 10

Okay, not public public - in the gym locker room. My whole life, I've never been comfortable stripping down in front of people. (I was that girl who changed in a bathroom stall in gym class.) I've often marveled at the women in my locker room who feel totally comfortable not just being naked in front of complete strangers, but blow drying their hair, checking themselves out in the mirror, or talking on their cell phones "au natural." They have to know the whole room is looking at them, right? We are not extras in their Truman Show lives! Or maybe we are. After all, you have to be kind of self-centered to think everyone wants to see your hot bod.

So I decided to throw any Catholic guilt away and take off my clothes. All of them. Even my underwear.

I was very nervous about this task. I'm not morbidly obese, but I could stand to lose a few (dozen) pounds, and I didn't like the idea of anyone seeing...that. I decided not to think about it and just do it—dive into the nudity pool with abandon!

Of course, just as I was getting ready to bear all, a woman sat 2 feet behind me and proceeded to make a phone call. I took a deep breath and kept disrobing. I almost expected to hear the woman on the phone gasp and come up with a reason to leave the room, but she continued on as if nothing remotely nude was happening near her. In fact, I managed to take off all my clothes and wrap a towel around myself totally without incident.

The next day I took my naturalist adventure a step even further when I dropped my towel to the floor while I was still several feet away from my locker! Sassy! I mean, I doubt anyone saw it, but the act itself felt very radical to me.

At the end of the day, I don't think I'll ever be the kind of person for whom getting naked is no big thing. Maybe when I myself am less of a thing? Anyway, I did it and hopefully from now on I won't feel as compelled to walk to the shower still wearing a bra and panties.