It's officially summer! Time to hit the beach, soak up some vitamin D, and embrace the warmth while you can. For a lot of women, summer can kind of....well, suck. It's the time of year where our bodies are supposed be toned, tight, and somehow already tan despite just coming out of the hibernation that is winter. All of this is required if they even wanna consider laying by the pool in something that shows some skin without the looks of judgement. If you don't have a "perfect bikini body," society says that you should probably just cover up or avoid the pool altogether.

We are surrounded by constant media bombardment of what exactly that perfect bikini body is. Beautiful models, PhotoShopped past the point of being realistic, advertise to women from the front pages of practically every magazine on how they can achieve an acceptable summertime body. The pages of these colorful magazines are filled with the diet pills, juice cleanses, and no gluten, no carbs, no breathing diets that promise you they can help you achieve the body that the world is telling you that you need.

But I wanna let you all in on a little secret...that's bullshit.

I have never been this ideal body type, and truthfully, I probably never will be. I've always been overweight. My calves are muscular and big, my chunky thighs are striped with stretchmarks, and my stomach is certainly not flat. The world has decided that my body is wrong. I'm not supposed to wear a revealing swimsuit, certainly not a two piece. I do not have a "bikini body".

Despite my love of swimming, for years the overwhelming insecurity I had about my body prevented me from jumping in the pool with my friends, often choosing to sit out and watch. Eventually though, through a little bit of self love and the body positivity movement, I came to realize a few things about mine and everyone else's bodies. Some of us are thin and small, while others are heavier or curvier. Some of us have cellulite and stretch marks and some of us are muscular and athletic. We are all different. There is one thing all these bodies have in common though. Every single one of them is a bikini body.

So this spring, as I strode through the plus size section, I picked up a two piece swimsuit. The color top and simple black bottoms caught my eye and before I realized what was happening, I bought it. I was anxious about wearing it, but when I finally did...nothing happened. I didn't die, the world didn't explode. In fact, I even got a few compliments on the suit. All of my summers of insecurity were washed away with one purchase.

So whether you're big, skinny, tall, or short, here's a few of my tips for getting that perfect bikini body:

1. Buy a bikini.

2. Put it on your body.

3. Love yourself.

Happy summer, everybody!