Ah yes, bathing suit season. The season some of us love, or the season some of us dread. The popular headline on popular women’s and even men’s magazines as each summer approaches is “How To Get the Perfect Bikini Body.” Well, what really is this “perfect bikini and beach body” these magazines speak of?

Over the years, photoshopping has become a major tool used by the media to create the idea of this ideal body everyone seeks. Celebrities are often sculpted into these god and goddess-like beings that people strive to be. But honestly, how realistic are these figures? Body positivity has been starting to become more prominent in the news, and promoted by celebs like Meghan Trainor and Beyonce. But those are celebrities, why aren’t more average people showing off their bodies proudly?

What got me thinking about the pressure women and men have to achieve the ultimate bathing suit ready body is a video made by BuzzFeed earlier this July. The video entitled “WTF is a Beach Body?” features two of BuzzFeed’s staff members Nyla Wissa and Kane Diep, both average people who never felt like they had a perfect beach body. In the video, they are photographed in a two piece bathing suit for Wissa and shirtless for Diep- how they wouldn’t normally go to the beach, which is arranged by another BuzzFeed staff member Daysha Edewi.

Each share their story about their body insecurities and the struggle to achieve the perfect beach body, and embrace themselves through this photoshoot. It was inspiring to see how Wissa and Diep began to find confidence in their bodies, even though they aren't the "ideal" beach bodies that society pressures us to have. After the photoshoot, they were shown the photos from it, and concluded that they felt a lot more confident with their bodies. Wissa says, "If I have a body, and it's at the beach...it's a beach body." I felt that was a perfect way to sum up what the perfect beach body is.

It's not having to do that extra set of crunches or eat extra veggies for the day, it's about how you view yourself. It's not what the media tells you. Your confidence to go out in public and rock what body you have is up to you and only you. I have honestly become more confident with myself because of seeing positive videos like these. From someone who was heavier growing up and constantly debating whether or not to wear a bikini, seeing videos where normal people with average bodies loving themselves is very reassuring. If you learn to love your curves, stretch marks, birth marks, and whatever makes your body unique, it'll make life a lot less stressful.

So go rock that beach body before the end of summer, you know you have one.

Check out the photos from the BuzzFeed photo shoot here!