Athena Mariposa - Changes!

Changes!

We seem to fear them for some reason. I joined SecondLife™ right as mesh bodies were becoming a thing. I had a system body for a couple of months, then immediately made the jump and never looked back. I had no fond memories of looking like an extra from a Super Mario’s game, so I didn’t have the same emotional attachment to an older look.

This is one of the earliest images of me in SL and one of my first attempts at Photography. Someone had shown me a picture they liked, and I tried to recreate it. I had no idea what I was doing, but the recipient was new like me and was suitably impressed. I do remember the skin was from LAQ and the hair is from Truth. I am 100% system in this picture.

My first mesh body was from The Mesh Project. I’m wearing an applied outfit in both pictures. The hair is Truth and I’m pretty sure the skin was TMP as well. I spent a great deal of my early SL as a blond. I was a brunette at the very beginning, I had to dig deep to find a picture of me with brown hair. Another significant thing is that I kept Athena very thin and small chested in those days. I just envisioned her as a willowy blond, I don’t even remember why.

However, this was the start of my “pampered princess” phase. I lived on a homestead Sim with a great guy, I was spoiled and had a lot of fun. I took a lot of silly pictures, sailed around on a luxury sailboat, etc. Athena was vain and spoiled. I lacked purpose, essentially. My look reflected it.

It was during this period that I finally gave up my scrawny TMP body. I have to say here that the TMP wasn’t a bad looking body, but as anyone would tell you, the lack of support for it was appalling. The HUD was terrible as well. I tried the Maitreya demo and it took all of five minutes to make the decision to jump.

I resisted the mesh head revolution for a bit. Early versions were so wooden, and I was satisfied with the system head/mesh body compromise. For those of you still out there who are still living that way, trust me, I get you. Then Catwa got into the game and her Jessica was more than I could resist. And as you can see, I was still playing with my hair color. I was primarily blond, but that didn’t stop the occasional brunette from sneaking in there.

Then it happened. That cataclysmic event known as “A Breakup.” I had been with a wonderful man for nearly a year and a half. During that time, I had gotten into photography in a big way, started a magazine and was on track with the SL I really wanted to live. The breakup halted me in my tracks. I really struggled with what to do next. The easy decision was to change up my look. I made the permanent shift to ginger hair and got my first Bento head, Catwa Catya (which was actually a gift).

That brings me to today. I’m not afraid of changing things up. I recently fell in love with the Catwa Sofia head and finally bought it. I’m using Deetalez Heidi Skin, one of the best examples of freckled skin in SL. I also use her freckled Maitreya applier. Both are in the European shade. My other go-to skin-maker is [Sessions] skins, one of the most natural looking in SL.

People often ask me, “Why so pale?” Well, in real life, redheads tend to be fair and have freckles! Also, in real life, I have the same skin coloring, so it feels more authentically me.

I hope you’ll share your own adventures in your changing looks over time.

 Athena