Summer has arrived! Do you feel like your body is ready for swimsuit season? For most people, especially girls, the answer is heck no. Unless your body is toned and tanned to perfection with curves in all the right places, you would not even think about stepping foot onto the beach in that bikini. You start to consider cutting out all sweets from your diet and spending the next few weeks living in the gym. Well, what if I told you that the beach, pool, or park are for enjoying the weather and having a good time, not a place to feel self-conscious about your body?

This article is aimed towards women but the concept applies to men equally.

There are countless campaigns promoting positive body image and self-love, yet for every reason given that you can love yourself for your differences, some magazine advertises ways to “fix” these same so-called “imperfections.” Or even worse, just when a company takes a stand to endorse positive body images, some late night show has to turn it into a complete joke and it goes viral. How can we love and appreciate our amazing bodies if we are constantly being told how we should and should not look and condemned for disregarding society's definition of beautiful?

Due to this conflict of interest in the media and society, all body types are criticized for one reason or another. Athletic body types are not feminine enough, skinny girls need to gain weight, curvy girls should lose weight. If a girl dresses up a lot she is trying too hard but if she dresses down too much she is a slob. When a woman spends hours on perfecting her makeup she is accused of being fake yet when she chooses to not wear makeup she is met with disapproval. It is a never ending battle.

Even celebrities, especially female media figure, become a victim of this scrutiny. Why do the media and society think it is acceptable to ridicule a woman who gains weight during pregnancy? Then social media takes it to a whole new level. People are so cruel and are even harsher over social media because it seems less "real" and not to mention, held less accountable for their actions.

We continue to claim that we advocate self-love and acceptance, but at the same time, we criticize. In order to actually make a difference, we have to practice what we preach.

On the other hand, just because you accept yourself the way you are, it does not mean you have to stop wearing makeup, dressing up, or caring about your appearance; this simply is not true. It just means that you are not doing it because you are trying to achieve the appearance that society deems attractive. You do it for extra confidence, or because you enjoy it, or to continue to be the best you can be by accentuating your features instead of covering your natural beauty or changing yourself. Every person, ethnicity, height, hair color, body type has something that works for them. We are not the same person so we do not and refuse to fit the same cookie cutter mold of beauty. As long as you are happy and healthy there is no reason you should change who you are or what you look like.

And with that, I wish everyone a carefree summer.