Today feels like a mermaid day for Morghan Parker.
She reaches for a tube of waterproof mascara and sweeps the brush across her eyelashes before running her fingers through her hair and grabbing sunscreen. A natural look.
Now, she has a choice.
She can slip into the green tail and purple seashell bra top to bring out her inner Ariel, or she can embrace her signature orange tail and matching bikini top combination.
Morghan Parker, the mermaid of San Marcos, flips her tail Sept. 16 in the San Marcos River.
The Ariel look wins and Parker selects the green tail, packs a bag and drives to the headwaters of the San Marcos River.
Once she reaches the waters edge, she carefully slides the tail on like a sock and glides into the river.
Many students graduate in the spring and head off to their new office jobs complete with a business casual look and a briefcase. Parker, however, has a different plan— to become a professional mermaid.
Professional mermaids make their living by performing at birthday parties or in exhibits at aquariums. Parker, a voice performance and music education junior, is currently working as a waitress until she finishes her degree and establishes a more permanent mermaid reputation within the community.
Morghan Parker, the mermaid of San Marcos, sits on the bank of the San Marcos River Sept. 16 in Sewell Park.
According to Fast Company, there are roughly 1,000 full-time mermaids and mermen modeling and performing in shows and at parties across the country today.
As a child growing up in Longview, Texas, Parker said she spent her free time on the banks of Lake Palestine donning a matching mermaid swimsuit and fishing pole.
“I was always in the water when I was a kid,” Parker said. “Every house that I had lived in, we always had a pool. That was the one stipulation.”
Parker said she discovered mermaids through her fascination with the sea and mythology books as a child and sought to connect with them in real life during her teens.
Morghan Parker, the mermaid of San Marcos, sits on the bank of the San Marcos River Sept. 16 in San Marcos City Park.
She learned of the professional mermaid business during a late night web search on Christmas Eve.
“I couldn’t sleep because, well, Santa, and so I got on Pinterest and started looking up mermaid stuff,” Parker said. “One pin led to another and I found out there were actually people who mermaided for their profession.”
Parker said it was the moment she realized her dreams could be reality.
The life of a mermaid, especially one attempting to make a living off her craft, is not for the easily discouraged.
Parker said it is a job that requires simultaneous expertise in swimming, marine biology, and compassion—not to mention a superhuman level of endurance and core strength.
Parker said the mermaiding process is still relatively new to her.
However, since she started swimming in the San Marcos River in early June, she said things have really started to take off.
Parker said she is working toward building up physical stamina and holding her breath while underwater.
Morghan Parker, the mermaid of San Marcos, swims in the San Marcos River Sept. 16 in Sewell Park.
At the moment she can stay below the surface for two minutes, and said many professional mermaids can stay under for almost four.
Parker is shooting for five minutes.
While it may seem outlandish to most people, Parker said its all part of her plan.
“I will go hike five, six miles a day, run stairs, do as much cardio and physical work that I can to build up my legs and build up my core especially, so I can swim with ease,” Parker said.
Parker hopes to use her presence on the river to educate individuals about the waters. She said it is her goal to protect the environment and the swimmers who spend their time on the riverbanks.
“The flood really hit us hard,” Parker said. “It is huge for me to make sure that everyone is educated about what the river can give and what it can take away.”
Martha Reyes-Muñoz, San Marcos resident, said she was surprised to come across Parker on the river.
“My best friend and I were both just laying down and enjoying our beautiful San Marcos River and here comes this girl who looks like Ariel from The Little Mermaid,” Reyes-Muñoz said. “She swam up to us and we talked for quite some time.”
Reyes-Muñoz said she visits the river often, but has never come across anyone like Parker before.
“She definitely seems like the type of person that is going to make it somewhere some day,” Reyes-Muñoz said. “She was very friendly and seemed to know exactly what she wants out of life.”
Morghan Parker, the mermaid of San Marcos, sits on the bank of the San Marcos River Sept. 16 in Sewell Park.
Parker said a major reason she puts on the tail every day is to show kids they can be whatever they dream of becoming.
“I have always had this big conspiracy in my mind that I was adopted and I wasn’t supposed to be a human, that there was something missing,” Parker said.
Parker said she has always been a mermaid at heart, and before she found an outlet to express herself it always felt like something was missing from her life.
“When I was young, I never really felt like I could show my true colors,” Parker said. “I had all these ambitions that I thought weren’t recognized, that couldn’t be achieved because I was told ‘no’ so many times.”