Picture a week of pure bliss. What does that look like to you? For me, it was crystal blue waters, warm squishy sand between my toes, cool shade by the pool, hiking ancient ruins, drinking from coconuts.... should I continue?
I recently got back stateside from a week in Mexico. I'd never been and I honestly had no idea what to expect. There always seems to be two sides to Mexico with people: either you're going to be kidnapped by the Drug Cartel (my mom) or its a heavenly oasis full of luxury resorts where you don't have a care in the world. Luckily I experienced the latter.
I was also afraid though....
In a moment of utter honesty... the thought of spending an entire week in my bathing suit freaked me out.
Ever since January -- you know... the month where stores start putting out bathing suits to remind you that it's only 6 months till summer so quit eating sugar -- there have been a constant string of images of what you should look like at the beach. An even tan, perfect abs, toned legs and arms, oh and your hair has to look fabulously windblown without ever going in your face.
I don't know about you but... I don't look like that!
There's also the list of diets a mile long. Sugar free diet, no alcohol, no coffee, no white breads, low fat, no carbs... shall I continue? I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: I'm Italian so there is no such thing as a no carb diet in our vocabulary.
To get to the point though, I was utterly terrified of spending a week in my bathing suit. And my biggest fear? Everyone was going to judge me for being there. Flying over there, I had already envisioned all the nasty glares, the judging looks, the whispers...
A thousand thoughts crowded my mind, discouraging me every mile closer we flew.
You don't look like those models! You shouldn't be here!
Everyone will hate your body
That swimsuit doesn't look good on you
Tanning is for the skinny
Go back home and cover up
Nobody wants to see you at the pool
But then... to my relief and surprise, I discovered what people actually thought about me.
They didn't freakin care!
And here's another reassuring find: I wasn't surrounded my super models. I was surrounded my people... actual normal-looking people. All different shapes and sizes, skin colors and different levels of sunburns. Different languages, different cultures, different passports. And not one of them minded that I dared to spend the week in my bathing suit.
It was only me, myself, and I.
You see, I've figured it out. Taking a PR class and then understanding corporate advertisement, I should have seen it sooner. Nobody actually cares if you have a flat stomach or if you have floppy arms. And no matter how much you cut out of your diet, no matter how much you murder yourself at the gym trying to look like that photoshopped model at Target, it won't satisfy you. That's how society and businesses make money.
If it was that simple -- get a flat stomach and you'll be happy -- they would lose profit. You have to constantly want, constantly not live up to the standard, constantly come back for more in your pursuit of perfection. Even those models don't live up to it. That's why we have photoshop.
So... to the ones who avoid the beach like the plague,
The ones who skip out on the pool with their friends,
The ones who sprint past the bathing suit section feeling shame,
The ones scrolling on Pinterest, staring at the "perfect bodies" and hating yourselves,
The ones who always skip on the cake, who skip on life (cause lets be honest, who lives without cake?),
The ones who starve yourself at school,
The ones who go throw up in the bathrooms,
The ones who feel like they don't live up the standard...the ones who feel like they've failed,
please please hear this:
You've met the standard. You are the standard. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You can rock anything, wear anything, be anyone and everything. And no photoshopped, perfect-looking model is going to change that :)
So go, get out there and rock that swimsuit. Life's too short to not go to the beach.
P.S. Go check out Aerie swimwear! Props to them for promoting all body types and showing anyone can rock a swimsuit.
"For every untouched swim photo you post with #AerieREAL, we'll donate $1 (up to $10K) to the National Eating Disorders Association. Because every body is a perfect beach body." -- ae.com
