As I was browsing through my subscription box on YouTube and watching my favorite vloggers, I came across a few videos titled "How to Get Fit for Spring Break" and "Get Bikini Body Ready!" I watched these videos, and it consisted of intense workout routines, going to ridiculously overpriced exercise classes, and eating on a strict diet, confining themselves to certain foods. Some videos even proposed becoming vegan in order to achieve a "spring break body". I applaud men and women who stick to routines as such, and I certainly agree with eating healthy and working out, but is this what a spring break body is?
I googled "what is a spring break body?" and in return, I received more routines on achieving one, rather than an actual definition. Headlines read, "How to Get a Spring Break Body in Two Weeks" and loads of Pinterest pins of quick routines and slim, toned blonde girls come up for "inspiration". Since there is no definition of a spring break body, and all the searches result in women with lifted butts and flat stomachs, society has come to believe that this is the epitome of a hot, spring break bikini body. It is absurd that this is the case because not everybody walks around with this body type.
The aspect of spring break bodies that bother me the most is that everyone feels they need to achieve one in order to have a fun break and to wear a bikini. Anybody can wear a bikini if they want to, you don't have to have any specific body type. There is no such thing a one perfect spring break body. Social media outlets lead us to believe that there is. Instagram and Pinterest are full of #fitspo photos and YouTube contains videos dictating workout routines. Even in movies, all of the actresses are skinny minis. Not once have I watched a movie with a spring break party scene and have seen an actress with thicker thighs and a belly. It is unfair that our minds have been conformed to create this definition due to media and movies.
Being a plus size girl all of my life, I never used to think I could wear a bikini. I found myself not fit enough to do so, and thought I would be made fun of. I also felt like I needed to work myself out to the extremes and go on diets in order to achieve that perfect spring break body. I'm here to tell you that there is no such thing as that. Everyone has a perfect body, no matter what you may tell yourself, what other people say, and what the scale says.
