Today, old body of mine, I will make you run. I will make you sweat and hurt and scream. Your lungs will burn, your thighs will jiggle, your arms will become wet with every second that I push you further.
Your heart will pound, your feet will ache, your mouth will gasp for your next breath.
And then, it'll stop. Water will wash down your throat, the sun will feel replenishing and restorative instead of harsh and scorching as it did moments before. The breeze will tickle your sweat-stained face, cooling and congratulating you on your hard work.
And your body will feel it: tired. Exhausted, the dull pain that will slowly creep into your muscles will satisfy you, knowing that you made it. Knowing that you pushed hard enough to feel it in the morning.
To the summer body that I seemingly will never achieve, I am now one day closer to you.
To the summer body that I should have pushed harder for in the winter season, I'm coming for you.
To the summer body I used to have in high school, well, that may be a while until I see you again.
The summer body is one that I have always dreaded ever since being out of high school. It's one that your old friends see, and is constantly exposed due to the heat and free spirit that follows hand in hand with summertime.
I think one of the hardest things about finding your summer body is the direct comparison that you now face -- every other girl in their itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikinis -- thank you Brian Hyland.
It's those girls who cannot wait to take their tops off and expose their little waists and muscular legs who make you wanna put a bag over your entire body and hide it in a cool, dark place all summer.
However, the comparison you face is mostly the one in your own head. Yes, you're probably like me and don't like to just strip down to become 90 percent naked in front of your friends, and boys for that matter, in broad daylight.
Maybe you've pulled the same move as me and kept a huge t-shirt on all day simply because you're scared to expose yourself... meanwhile sweating profusely underneath and sadly attempting to hide your discomfort not-so-nonchalantly.
What I'm trying to say is that insecurity about your body in the summertime truly just sucks. There's no better way to put it.
But you also have to know that regardless of the cellulite on your legs, or your washboard abs hidden behind a glimpse of a beer gut in the making, or even your arms that jiggle just a little too much when you wave... it's not over. Your summer body can still be one that you're proud of, especially now that the weather is nice and your Vitamin D from the sun is comin' in hot.
Get out and enjoy the day. Take a walk with your pup or a swim in the lake. Take a bike ride around your neighborhood or rollerblade through town. There are so many fun things that come without the stress of having too difficult of a workout that will still keep your blood pumpin' and your sweat poolin'.
Forget the pressure of having to be perfect, and make the days that aren't filled with work or stress days that are spent outside, free of the big t-shirts and the forgotten winter parkas.
It's summertime, baby. Let loose. Take your top off.
