It’s time we stop stressing over the ‘perfect bikini body’

It’s summer, the semester is over and the beautiful weather is starting to make an appearance into our lives. You know what that means… bikini season.

As young women, we dread this time of year that’s supposed to be full of carefree memories at the beach with our fellow babes. So instead of gearing up for beach season by looking up new bellini recipes and buying the hottest line of swimsuits, we spend our days slaving over ourselves to achieve the perfect “bikini bod.”

Summer is the season of barbeques and late night diner runs – so why am I calculating how many miles on the treadmill is equal to a couple of cheeseburgers? The semester is over and so is the time for math problems. We deserve to have fun. We worked hard all year and this summer is a reward – not a chore. Carrying around a load of self-hate is no way to enjoy the warm weather.

Every Instagram account that pictures celebrities in bikinis looking ethereal is a load of crap. Just because you cannot pay a stylist a million bucks to perfect yourself doesn’t mean you look any worse than those girls. Instagram is just an app. While it’s okay to admire the beauty of Instagram models and celebrities, it is not okay to deprecate our own inner-goddesses in the process. These accounts are edited, photoshopped, distorted, and these girls have one job and that job is too look amazing and sell their products. Our job is to be happy wearing those very products that those women wear, not to resent ourselves.

To prepare for this summer season, do whatever makes you happy. What you decide to wear at the beach is your business and your business only. If spending some time at the gym makes you feel more confident then that’s great; release your endorphins and get your sweat on.

But, if you are trying to achieve an unattainable body that you see glorified on social media accounts, then I promise you that you will end up disappointed. There is nothing to achieve when you use the gym as a place to get closer to a goal that doesn’t even exist.

You want a “bikini bod”? Here’s a golden tip: There is no such thing.

Bikini bods are a myth. They do not exist. They are something that the world made up to make even more limitations on the female population.

Stop worrying about how others will look at you in that suit and own that shit. Flaunt what you have because, babe, it’s perfect the way it is. Men of all sizes get to go bare at the beach so why should we have to feel that if we don’t look a certain way, we need to wear a different kind of swimsuit?

There is no mold to fit yourself into; there is only you looking fierce this summer in a kickass bikini.