With the summer months quickly approaching, and the weather warming up, it is the time of year where swimsuits become a main piece of every SDSU students’ weekly wardrobe. With multiple pool facilities on campus, and tons of beaches nearby it is hard to escape the inevitable of someone inviting you to a beach or pool day. While I myself love a good day relaxing by the water, soaking up the San Diego sun, for myself and many others it can bring about a lot of stress and anxiety when it comes to our bodies.
This time of year our bodies are more on display, with temperatures rising meaning shorts, crop tops etc. are everywhere you look. I find myself feeling self conscious often times when it comes to wearing these clothing items, and especially swimsuits. While my friends often go hang by the pool, sometimes I consider not going just because of my own body insecurities.
I realize however that you can still enjoy the warmer weather regardless because you shouldn’t feel pressured to look a certain way. If you aren’t comfortable lounging by the pool in a bikini, then wear shorts, or a long t-shirt. Whatever makes you feel comfortable is what you should wear.
Body positivity isn’t an easy journey, I can tell you that as I am still learning to accept my body after it has changed so much through my first year of college. But it is important to remember that a so called “swimsuit body” is just a body in a swimsuit, aka every type of body rocks swimwear.
Summer is a wonderful time to be outdoors, enjoy nature and spend quality time with friends, so don’t let unrealistic beauty standards get in the way of that. Just know if you have some anxiety going into these next few months, you are NOT ALONE. That being said, we can all work towards loving our bodies and ourselves from within more by being unapologetically ourselves, and surrounding ourselves with people that love us for what’s on the inside, because at the end of the day that is the true measure of beauty. So get on that cute new swimsuit and soak up that vitamin C because you are beautiful inside and out.