Wearing Swimsuits

After spending the last 15 months in a swimsuit for more days than not, I’ve come to a few conclusions. I’m not going to tell you that I have become some sort of magical unicorn of body confidence, nor that living on an island has cured me of my insecurities, and certainly not that I never feel ashamed of the belly that I’m stuck with. Yes, that still bothers me a lot. I still struggle with feeling OK in a swimsuit and there are certainly photos of me that make me cringe, but in general, with each month / year that passes, I’m starting to celebrate little body image victories that this island life is teaching me.

How to get a beach body – step 1: go to beach. Step 2: done.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far: If you’re unhappy with what you see and how you feel, you have two basic choices...

Option 1: Make a change. Exercise for your health. Stop eating/drinking so much crap.

Option 2: Change your attitude. Accept yourself as you are. Shine your focus on what you love about yourself instead.

Either option is acceptable. Complaining all the time is not.

What you do in your swim suit matters more than what you look like in it. What comes to mind are the activities I did, the things I laughed about, and the friendships I made and strengthened – not how I looked. I may have been feeling down before I left the house, deeming some days as “bad body days”, but once I was out, that pointless stream of consciousness left my brain, the fun took over, and I focused on having a great day instead. Jan is always so supportive.

There is such a thing as camera code when it comes to social media. Respect it. We live in a time of pervasive photo taking. Personally, I hate having my picture taken and the stress of that takes away from my fun. But either way, having some photo memories of good times with friends are great – so long as everyone respects the code. This means you do a quick check-in with friends before posting and we can all relax and enjoy making photo memories.

You cannot change your fundamental body type, so you may as well embrace it. There is no amount of exercise in the world that is going to give me a “Twiggy” waist line. Shocking discovery, right? The nice thing about being in a place with people from all different backgrounds who are also wearing swimsuits year round is that you realize that we’re all shaped differently. There are pluses and minuses to all body types - rock your pluses.

Talking about body insecurities is incredibly uninteresting conversation. You see that group of women hanging out in the water? Laughing with cocktails in their hands and soaking up the Caribbean sunshine? Want to guess what they’re not talking about? That’s right – their bodies. Because literally no one wants to hear about what you don’t like about your body.

There’s a reason they’re called, “tourist drinks”. It’s no secret that we islanders tend to imbibe a *wee* bit more than our counterparts in other locales. But unless you want to gain the pounds, leave the creamy, sugary concoctions for the tourists who have been dieting at home for the last three months so they could finally go on vacation – once you live here, you’re not on vacation.

Beauty is a soul quality not a physical quality. I know, I know. This may sound trite like something your grandma used to tell you, the old, real beauty comes from the inside. Proof of this can be found in the passing of time. Do you ever look back on photos of your younger self and wish you could have that body back? The one that, all those years ago, you had the nerve to complain about and criticize? Yeah. The struggle is real. We’re all in this together and no one is perfect.

Wearing a swimsuit year round is a privilege. If you’re wearing one year round, it means you live somewhere that’s warm enough every month on the calendar to do so. And you’re right next to a body of water that you can swim in. Rejoice! You made it to the Land of Forever Summer. Stop worrying about the “how I look in a bikini” part. Now go to the beach already, will ya?