I recently read an article about a woman's negative experience with her first time at a clothing optional beach. I wanted to share my experience to show that not all nude beaches are uncomfortable. You don't have to feel like a sexual object just because you are naked.

This summer has been the season of firsts for me. Feeling adventurous, I decided to go to a clothing optional beach while I was in Hawaii. While in Pahoa, HI I was living with very open minded, accepting individuals. Nudity wasn't a big deal in our small community. Taking that nudity public, however, was a little scary to me.

I am a sexual assault survivor. I have PTSD from my assault and sometimes I can't even stand to be touched. Having also dealt with an eating disorder, you can imagine what I thought it would feel like to have people staring at my naked body. Yes, the nerves are real. In my opinion, you can let them drag you down or fuel you to try something new. Put yourself out there and see what happens.

This beach was a typical part of every Sunday for the community I was living in. Many people in the surrounding towns attended this beach every week. We had just finished up at Ecstatic Dance at Kalani (a non-verbal self expression dance event) and we headed to the beach. We were hot and sweaty in the 90-something degree weather. In the car I looked around at the people surrounding me and thought to myself "These people are about to see me stark naked". Of course, these weren't the people I was afraid of. I had gotten used to the outdoor showers at the farm I was staying at and was comfortable around them. It was the strangers that scared me.

We spotted the beach from the top of the volcanic rock cliff. Of course there were people who didn't feel like taking off their clothes and that is fine too but it did help seeing at least some people in the nude. We hiked down the cliff side to the black sand beach, found a spot to put our stuff and immediately started stripping. I didn't have any time to think about what I was doing. All of a sudden, my clothes were off and I was in the water.

Now this is very important to remember: you don't get to choose who is at the beach when you're naked. There were women and men of all ages. Some people are there for the wrong reasons and you can't control that. Personally, I didn't encounter anyone whom I thought was sketchy or was looking at me in the wrong light.

Walking out of the water was my shining moment. I was naked, wet and beaming in the sunlight. I felt like a super model strutting my stuff. Yes, people looked. It is only natural to be curious about the human body. We only really get to see our own bodies every day. It is a whole new experience to see all types of bodies right in front of you. Old, young, tan, pale, black, white, big, small, shaved, unshaven.

In order to be able to walk naked in front of strangers, you have to be completely comfortable with the fact that some people think of the body as a sexual object. I am fully aware that there are people who sexualize my body. I can hate it all I want but I can't control their thoughts. I know that my body is not a sexual object. My body is beautiful with every single flaw and insecurity.

That's the part about the beach that surprised me. These bodies are not photo shopped. They are real, raw bodies. I'm sure everyone there had their own insecurities, but they were brave enough to let them go for a little while.

Feeling the waves crash over my body as the sun light breaks through the clear water was incredible. The feeling of being one with the ocean is an experience that I will never forget. Laying on the sand, completely exposed, feeling even the slightest gust of wind flow over my body. This was easily one of the happiest experiences of my life. In fact, later that week I returned to enjoy myself at that beach all alone. The weird part? I was completely comfortable with it. Now I almost think it's weird that we are forced to cover up something so natural.

My experience at a clothing optional beach was life changing. I highly suggest going to a nude beach at some point during your life.