It's hard to scroll through Instagram recently without seeing a bikini post. Whether it is a Victoria's Secret model posing for the 2015 Swim Issue, or a girl from home enjoying her spring break at the beach, we can no longer avoid it.
Bikini season is inevitable, whether our bodies are ready or not.
How many times have you questioned what fruit your body resembles the most in order to pick the best bikini? Better yet, how does one resemble an apple or a pear? How many times have you scrutinized yourself in front of the mirror? How many times have you adjusted any extra skin, hoping for a miracle? How many times have you thought you didn't look good? Do I have an hour glass body? Am I sporty, or petite? Would the triangle top work best with my body?
The thing is, no one has the right answers to these questions, or even the answers we want to hear.
I don't love my body, but I also don't hate my body. It may not look like a supermodel's, but my body does enough for me to appreciate it. I may not have abs, but I do have freckled skin to protect me from germs and diseases. I may not have tank top arms, but I do have scars that have cool memories behind them. My body is not an object, it is a machine -- a healthy, properly-functioning machine that I forget to be thankful for everyday.
Binge-dieting and intense workouts may seem like the answer, but does that really make us happy? Is starving ourselves to look good in a bathing suit really worth giving up that piece of chocolate or Chipotle rice bowl? If drinking protein shakes for a week before a spring break vacation is what you need to do to feel confident in a bikini, then go for it. If you eat carbs the week before, more power to you!
For the record, being skinny isn't a requirement to wearing a bikini.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel good. If you want to change your body, that is up to you. Don't let an Instagram post or swimsuit model make that decision for you. After all, you are the one that is stuck with your body, so you might as well love the one you're in.
Thank you bikinis, for letting me appreciate what my body has done for me for the past 20 years, not just what it has offered to the eyes of the people around me. Thank you for redefining what it means to be confident.
And as for this upcoming bikini season, I advise you to put your bikini on and enjoy yourself. If you're an apple, hour glass, pear or potato, do what you want with your bikini and love the body you're in, because that's all there really is to do.
