IMAGINE THIS: For every hateful comment online, two positive ones took their place…
How much love would we feel then?
How welcome, confident and happy would we all be in our own skin?
For the majority of my life, I have been taught to hate my body, told that it is disgusting and I’ve been made to feel as though I’m not worthy.
It took a long time for me to have the confidence to believe in myself, to ignore the negative opinions of others and to love my body. Now I don’t worry what anyone else thinks about how I look, bad or good, because the important thing is that when I look in the mirror, I love me.
I DRESS MY BODY FOR ME, NOT THE VALIDATION OF OTHERS.
If someone chooses to pay me a compliment or say something kind, it does give me a little happiness boost and makes me smile even more but my own happiness doesn’t depend on it. If they choose to try to be nasty or hurt me, the book stops with them. I love me and my body and I won’t let anyone stop me from living my best life.
Since becoming part of the #TakeThePledge campaign, the positive support on and offline has been truly amazing. So much so that the odd attempts at being nasty have been so greatly overshadowed that any hateful commentators really come across as ridiculous.
Imagine taking the time out of your day to try to drag someone down who is clearly happy and using their positivity to inspire others to be happy too? It really shows far more about the person trolling and how unhappy they are with an aspect of their life than it could ever do about the person they’re hating on.
Thankfully, nasty comments have been few and far between; the positive support and encouragement has been unreal; THANK YOU. I have felt happily overwhelmed on so many occasions; I’ve especially loved reading messages from women who have felt inspired to love themselves in their own skin and even try out a bikini for their next holiday- you go girls!
The one that I’m wearing in this post is from Simply Be who make some of my favourite plus size swimwear. I’ve been wearing their swimming costumes and tankinis for all of my adult life and when I wore a bikini for the first time last year, they were the first website I turned to.
This month, I travelled to Costa Rica to stay at the fabulous Riu Guanacaste Hotel and I picked out the Beach to Beach Bikini Top and the Beach to Beach Bikini Shorts in the tropical print to wear around the pool.
The print is stunning; so vibrant and colourful and in true Simply Be style, they’ve given their beach beauties a choice of different styles in the same fabric. Whether you want to go glam in a bikini or swimsuit or be a total fashionista in a tankini, blouson or skort, there’s a style for you to feel confident in around the pool as well as some coordinating beachwear to pop on over the top for when you’re going for drinks at the pool bar.
I really feel as though the cut of the bikini top especially really makes the most of my figure. When I pick out clothes, especially bikinis, I look for the ones that I feel as though I look my best in and it gives me so much more added confidence and a spring in my step when I wear them. Its perfectly ok to love and be confident in your body while still wanting to wear clothes that you feel are flattering or best suited to you, in just the same way as its cool to say to hell with flattering too. The point is that we all have a choice and the choice is entirely our own; quite empowering don’t you think?
I feel so excited for the future; it seems as though times are changing and I hope that eventually we get to a point where girls and boys don’t grow up hating their bodies and feeling less worthy like I have done in the past.
When it comes down to it, the only opinion that matters about your own body and what you wear is your own.
The only way to silence hate is with love and that all starts with YOU!
SHOP THE POST
How do you feel about haters online? What do you love to wear around the pool? How confident do you feel in your body?
What a gorgeous bikini and you madam, are an inspiration! You look amazing! x
Great post, Laura, and you look fab in the beautifully colourful bikini to. It really is a reflection on the people spreading the hate and understanding that is the best place to start. Well done for sharing such a positive message and here's to more of it in the future!
I really like that bikini, the colors look awesome, perfect for summer
I love this post its good you don't take no notice if people are rude and make nasty comments as long as you are happy it doesn't matter what other people think.
You are so inspiring, I have so much respect for you and all that you do. Especially looking amazing in that bikini. Fantastic.
You always look so good! And your confidence really shines through. I love what you're doing to normalise plus size figures, as a curvy girl myself it definitely makes me feel more confident about what I choose to wear 🙂
I always think you look amazing, Laura. I wish I was half as confident as you appear to be :)Louise x
Laura you look so beautiful hope that you had an amazing holiday xxx
That is a really nice bikini with a beautiful print. Perfect for this summer.
You look amazing in that bikini and so happy!