At first, social nudity can feel like sensory overload. Different bodies, different ages, different shapes, scars, skin tones, and a lot for your brain to process. Then something shifts. Somebody loses their keys. Somebody wants coffee. Somebody cannot get their beach umbrella to stay put. Suddenly, the nudity is not the most interesting thing happening.

I arrived at a nudist park fully clothed, with enough thoughts to power a small city. Nobody rushed me. Then somebody invited me into the hot tub. Taking my clothes off was my decision. So was putting them back on later.

People hear “naked” and picture something interesting. I’m trying to get a sock out of a fitted sheet. Between laundry, cold toast, and missing glasses, I get on with a day that apparently sounds much more exciting with my clothes off.