Bathing suit season is upon us, and every girl I know no matter how tall, thin, beautiful or healthy is probably freaking out right about now. It seems ironic that the most fun and adventurous time of the year is also the most nerve-wracking for those of us with any insecurities (all of us). Surprisingly enough, you're not the only one going through this. Read on for 11 of your favorite celebrities and their take on body positivity and how you can incoporate it into your life this summer at the beach or by the pool.
"I'm learning that you can be comfortable and still look beautiful."-Selena Gomez
Because you shouldn't have to obsess over not looking as fit, toned or thin as the girl next to you. Another person's beauty does not detract from your own.
"I think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period. Happy people are beautiful. They become like a mirror and they reflect that happiness."-Drew Barrymore
Happy girls are pretty girls, and being happiness isn't derived from the number on the scale or the size of your jeans. Happiness comes from peace within yourself.
"My great hope for us as young women is to start being kinder to ourselves so that we can be kinder to each other. To stop shaming ourselves and other people: ''too fat too skinny, too short, too tall, too anything.' There's a sense that we're all 'too' something and we're all not enough. This is life. Our bodies change. Our minds change. Our hearts change."-Emma Stone
This is something that really irks me all of the time, when I hear the people that I think are beautiful around me being mean to themselves, and for what? Be kinder to yourself, treat your body as your temple. Nourish it well, exercise, rest and love the skin you're in. Being kinder to yourself will make you kinder to others in turn.
"I keep telling myself that I'm a human being, an imperfect human being who's not made to look like a doll."-Emma Watson
Because whether you believe it or not, you are human and you may be imperfect but that does not make you any less beautiful. In fact, the imperfections are what make some of the most beautiful things in life.
"The female body is something that's s beautiful. I wish women would be proud of their bodies and not diss other women for being proud of theirs."-Chistina Aguilera
Stop body shaming yourself and stop body shaming others! Be proud of your body and do not be ashamed or insecure of your imperfections, they are what make you you.
"I want to enjoy life, and I can't if I'm not eating and miserable."-Kate Upton
Starving yourself and obsessing over your body are not only unhealthy for your body but for your mind and quality of life, too. Be kind to the body and it will be kind to you. Take good care of yourself, you're worth that much.
"I'm proud of my body, I'm finally in a good place and learning to love me for me, and not somebody else's standards."-Khloe Kardashian
Set your own standards and work to live up to those. The standard of beauty set by society is unattainable and quite honestly, irrelevant. If you think you're beautiful, others will take notice and do the same. But you're opinion of you is what ultimately matters most.
"I want to encourage women to embrace their own uniqueness. Because just like a rose is beautiful, so is a sunflower, so is a peony. I mean, all flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that's like women too."-Miranda Kerr
You are not everyone's cup of tea, no one is. But someone thinks you are the prettiest rose in the garden, or maybe you're the peony. Either way, you need to believe it too.
"If you're not hot you're expected to work on it until you are, if you don't have a good body you better starve the body you have down to a neutral shape..."-Tina Fey
Our beauty standards today are so unreasonable that even the women who have achieved them can barely maintain them. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be happy than perfect.
"There's nothing wrong with me or my shape or who I am: you're the one with the problem."-Jennifer Lopez
The way you regard others says so much more about the way you regard yourself than you do the other person. Love yourself as you are, and it will become that much easier to accept and love others as they are.
"I'm not going to sacrifice my mental health to have the perfect body."-Demi Lovato
Why settle? Concentrate on your mental health and positive body image will follow. Have fun on the beach, by the pool or doing whatever this summer by concentrating on all of the things your body has and can do, rather than things it doesn't have or cannot do. Your worth is cognizant of so much more than the "perfect" body.