On any given sunny day on campus, it is quite common to see foreign exchange students walking around with an umbrella to shade them from the sun. The first time I saw this, I was a little confused. Why would they hide from the sun? Or maybe rain was in the forecast for later and they were just being prepared? Either way, my clueless self found it odd.

I asked around and did some research to find it was a cultural thing for the most part. The fairer your skin the more beautiful you are and the darker your skin the more you were perceived as poor since farmers were in the sun all day. In fact, most countries in the north east, especially Asia, are much like this.

Now, maybe it’s because I grew up in the south and with a mother who used baby oil to tan and laid out in the sun for hours, but this was an alien concept to me. Though it is a cultural practice to stay out of the sun, it’s actually one of the best things you can do for yourself as well.

So, are we sensing a common theme here yet? It’s all about protecting and shielding yourself from what? That’s right, the sun.

My mother got into skin care a couple years ago and it was then that my eyes became open to the seriousness of sun worshiping. Years of mistreating her skin and exposing it to harmful rays took its toll on her and the rest of the population who tan frequently. Dark spots, uneven skin tones, wrinkles, advanced aging, and looking basically like a shriveled up piece of leather are the lesser side effects from over exposure to the sun. Skin cancer is a more serious one.

Ever since beginning my research, the results are more than clear. The sun is not your friend, people. It is your enemy. And don’t get me wrong, I’m more than guilty for eagerly waiting for the sunny days where I can lounge in a pool chair with some sweet tea and SPF 15 at the most. The summer is my favorite and with a heavy ancestry of American Indian, I tan well and rarely burn. So giving up tanning is something I’m still working on and probably still in denial about a little.

In the U.S., tanning is a huge market and the vast majority of the times is thought of to make you more beautiful. But I say, to hell with that! Whatever your natural skin color is, it is time to embrace it and feel beautiful inside your natural self. Whether you are pale or dark or somewhere in between, you are gorgeous. Take care of yourself and stay out of the sun. if you are going to be in the sun for any extended period of time, take the precautions necessary and wear sun screen.

Tanning is a terrible habit that most people aren’t willing to accept is bad yet. But taking care of your body should be your only concern in this life.