Redefining “swimsuit-ready”

I love my body.

Be honest. Did that declaration make you feel a little uncomfortable? Does it strike you as sort of a stuck-up thing to say? Me too. And that’s sad. Somehow it’s ingrained in us to push against positive statements about our bodies. I often find myself responding to a compliment about my appearance by rolling my eyes, saying something like, “You’re too nice,” or by pointing out an imperfection.

But as I get older, I’m slowly realizing how trivial appearance is compared to the weightier things in life. I want to stop asking myself, do I like how I look? What are others going to think about how I look? And instead ask, do I like myself? How do I make other people feel when they’re around me? The answer to that question is far more important than if my look is on point.

Don’t get me wrong—exercising, eating well and trying to look your best are all important. They contribute to your self-esteem and help out big time in the self-love department. It gets unhealthy when we use how we’re doing in those areas to define our worth and determine the extent to which we’re going to love and accept our bodies.

I love this analogy of how you can’t truly connect with or help other people if you’re always looking through a mirror, so to speak, as you interact with someone—always worrying about how you’ll be seen, or how what you say (or post, in this social media world) will be received. I’m trying to toss that mirror to the ground and let it shatter. I’ll take my chances with seven years of bad luck in favor of trying to focus on the people in front of me and their needs, their desires, and their struggles instead of getting caught up in my own.

The real motivation for me in this body-image-makeover is that I have two little girls. Two innocent children who don’t even know body shaming is a thing. I dread the day when they realize it is. And although the “I love my body” statement seems like a rare one in our society, I want them to love theirs. So, I have to start loving mine. I have to start celebrating my body for what it is, not what it isn’t. Yeah, I’d love to switch my bum for a less flat one. I wouldn’t mind having my sister’s perfect nose instead of the one I think is a little too out there. I’d love to smooth out the cellulite, the freckles and the moles and not dread the hollow-boob you post-breastfeeding women know all about.

But the fact that I have a healthy body outweighs all of that. I can walk. Run. Dance. Exercise. Grow humans inside of me, then take care of them and play with them. And that is beautiful.

“Who taught you to hate being what God made you?” My prayer is that we can re-learn how to love our bodies and teach the rising generation of girls to do the same.

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These thoughts led to my “Redefine swimsuit-ready” project. Some really amazing friends of mine and a few local companies who believe in a positive body image got together for a photo shoot. Our purpose is to help spread the word on social media that you don’t have to look a certain way to be “swimsuit ready” and to enjoy your summer to the max. Thank you to Center Style Studio for being the perfect backdrop for our simple photos and Roxana Baker for taking them!

Want to help the movement catch fire? Post a photo of yourself in a swimsuit on social media and share your thoughts on body image. Make sure you tag #redefineswimsuitready! 

Tara Brooke in Kortni Jeane

Michelle Petersen in Kortni Jeane

Erika Peterson in Lime Ricki

Emily Smith in Pink Desert

Roxana Baker (our amazing photographer) in Lime Ricki

Me in Nanette Lepore from Called to Surf

When someone said, “jump!” I was thinking awkward bunny, she was thinking sexy rockstar.

You don’t know how excited we were to eat our ice cream from Rockwell Old Fashioned Ice Cream Co. Michelle recommended the lemon balsamic and it was amazing.