Beach Photos and Tan Lines

My tan lines are fading and rainy days are coming, but I'm still not done posting my beach photos. I have no plan to post everything anyway because there's A LOT. But as I was scrolling through those photos, I thought about something, so let me just ramble about it here. 

When I posted my beach photos on Facebook, I received compliments about it. It was awkward for me, for sure, but I did appreciate it. What really got me though was friends/relatives who told me they could never wear a swimsuit, let alone a bikini. Most of their reasons? That they are fat or they're very insecure about a certain body part. I was, and oftentimes still am, too. I think it's because of the picture perfect image of girls in swimsuits that we see everywhere, especially on TV and magazines, and now, on social media. It made us feel like we cannot flaunt our bodies if we don't fit the criteria of what the world thinks is beautiful. It's also probably because of the comments we receive about our weight from people we know. It's so easy to tell someone how they look fat or how thin they are without thinking about how that person feels or pausing to realize that there could be a reason for the weight gain/loss. I'm guilty of that as well, I'm not gonna lie, but now, I know better and I always remind myself how I shouldn't make comments like that. Maybe we should all be mindful about commenting about other people's physical appearance. Just think that if you noticed it, they probably already have too; because it's their body and they know it better than you do. 

More than what other people think though, it's really about how confident or at least comfortable you are with your body. If you ask me if I'm confident now, I'd tell you honestly that I'm not. I still have a lot of insecurities, but I'm more comfortable with all of those now.

I remember the first time I had the guts to wear a 2-piece swimsuit on the beach. I also remember how it took a really confident friend and a group of supportive friends to convince me to remove my cover-up. This friend of mine is really confident in her own skin and somehow, a bit of her confidence rubbed off on me. But like me, I know she had a phase where she lacked confidence too. The thing is, at one point in our lives, we will probably be on that phase, and that's okay. What's important is coming to the point where you have accepted all your flaws. The point where you already love yourself so much that it doesn't really matter if other people think you are beautiful or if you fit the society's standards of beauty. 

As for my beach photos, I jokingly told a few friends that it was just photoshop when they were talking to me about it. First reason is that it was really awkward for me and I didn't know how to respond. Another one is because in reality, it's not how I look like everyday. It's not like I look like some model in my photos or that it's all touched up. What I'm trying to say is that every photo I was confident enough to post took a couple of shots, a lot of trying to look good for the photo, and a lot of breathing in. Haha! Another thing is that even now, I still couldn't wear swimsuits every single time I go to the beach or for a swim. I still consider where we'd swim or who I'm with. I depend on how comfortable I am with everything. So next time you want to wear a swimsuit or any outfit you feel like wearing on a normal day, go ahead. What really matters is how you feel about it and not what other people think about it.