It's almost that time of year ladies! Soon enough the sun will be shining every day, our pools will be open, and endless beach days are soon awaiting.

But with the summertime hype quickly approaching, so is this dreaded "season". There is a huge emphasis this time of year with the upcoming "bikini body season" because women may face a feeling of obligation to change the way their bodies look before it is time to wear that cute new bikini to the beach.

To some, it may be easier to drop pictures on social media of themselves in bathing suits, but to others, some may struggle, and find a hard time feeling confident in the way they look in swimwear to be able to post a photo online. Even seeing pictures of models on the beach rocking the hottest bathing suits can cause some women to feel self-conscious about the way they look.

That is because in today's society, the media has arranged a cosmetically altered vision of what the "perfect body" needs to look like;

Thin waists

Thigh gaps

Perfectly long healthy hair

Big butts

Nice boobs

Smooth skin

The list goes on and on. These are all common expectations that women are faced with in order to be seen as beautiful. With these "standards of perfection" this can put a lot of pressure on women to have the "perfect" figure for the upcoming summer when it is time to bring the bathing suits back out.

But what if we don't look like how the media expects us too in a bikini? Then what do we do?

We simply love ourselves.

Loving yourself may be hard if you are constantly reminded of "imperfections" you may have due to society, but to look away from these so-called standards, and learn to be comfortable in your own skin, is the first of many ways to increase self-love within ourselves.

Body positivity is extremely important because it enables you to accept the way you were created, and be at ease with the idea that no body will ever be the same, or like your own. It is to be able to love yourself and not feel as if there are things that need to be altered.

Instead of promoting what a "bikini body" needs to look like, we should be enforcing the importance of having self-confidence in yourself, no matter someone's shape or size. The size of your bikinis, and the way you look in one, will never define you as a person.

Regardless of someone's age, it is important to have confidence in yourself because it truly effects every action you make in life. So when you put on that bikini for the first time in over a couple of months, instead of looking at yourself in the mirror and saying, "ugh I hate this and that" say, "I am beautiful the way I am, and no one is going to tell me otherwise". Our bodies are a temple and need to be taken cared of and loved! We were all born in different, beautiful, and individual ways, and that needs to be embraced!

You are beautiful.

You are strong.

You are powerful.

You are capable of anything you set your mind too.

Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

It is time to stop comparing our bodies and the way we look to what the media wants women to look like. It is time to start loving ourselves more for how we were created and worrying less about how we were not. It is time to embrace our true beauty on the inside and outside.