Society begs for people to realize what size they are. When walking into a clothing store, people are quickly met with the expectations to fit into a certain size category and size can be different from store to store. Being a size 3 in one store may mean one would be a size 5 in another store. We become fixated on the numbers, feeling that if we want to fit society's standards of beauty that we need to fit within the size realm of 3 to 7. There is the ideal that if one is too small, that they are sickly skinny, but if one is outside that standard then they must be obese.

Even within this sizing measure, many women are judged to be too much. They are seen as being too muscular, too fat, the breasts are too big, the hips are too wide, the thighs jiggle too much. It comes down to too much of one thing or another. We are made to feel that if we do not fit into the cookie cutter model of beauty that we are not beautiful. Magazines are strewn with this perception and the annual Victoria Secret fashion show makes girls regret their last burger. We should not be raised to feel this way and yet society makes us think that we are not beautiful.

Society wants us to go out and buy the latest products. It wants us to continually consume goods that we may not necessarily need. It makes us believe that we need to buy products to make our hair perfectly curled or straight, that we need the latest styles of neon or lace, but need to look beyond that. Beauty is deeper than that. I am not trying to be cliche. It is definitely true. Look at a person who is smiling and laughing. Their joy is contagious and spreads to everyone in the area. When we are around people we love and who care about us, we are filled with joy and size is not important. Styles of clothing is not a priority.

But then there is the bikini issue. Some girls are uncomfortable with their love handles while others are uncomfortable with how exposed they may be. It is very seldom that a girl is completely confident with her body. Every girl seems to be able to find something wrong on her body and bikinis beg for it to be displayed for everyone to see. It is up to the girl if she is comfortable with it or not and if she wants to wear one in public. There are also the options for a one-piece or a tankini for the girl to wear. It is up to the girl if she is comfortable with what she chooses to wear for these situations. Clothing is a subject that can bring up endless routes. There is the number game that women have to play when shopping for new clothes while enduring the stress of seeing the sizes that fit them. It is a continuous struggle to fight society's standards on how we should look and feel that we need to fit a certain ideal. Continue to fight that. You are beautiful the way you are.