Twice. The number of times I arrived at the beach and did the impossible (at least for me): I took off the massive cover-up/giant T-shirt I was wearing over my bathing suit. *Insert gasp here* Why the gasp? Well, in comparison, I’ve been to the beach hundreds of times. So twice isn’t that remarkable when you consider those numbers. Oh, and if you’re wondering about those two times and why I did the impossible, 1) the first time occurred in Puerto Rico, where the likelihood that I would see someone I knew was zero to none and therefore increased my comfort level, and 2) the second time was me just feeling fancy-free. (And again, being out of town was the recurring factor.)

Are you like me? I call us the Covered-Ups.

We prefer to exist behind an assortment of beachwear that prevents anyone from seeing our undoubtedly cute but very much hidden bathing suits. Have you ever wondered why we do this? Are we imagining a judgment of our bodies? Is it a shyness thing? Or do we want to blend in rather than be noticed? Perhaps it’s all those things. Whatever the case, dear fellow Covered-Up, I realized that it’s high time for a change. That’s why I declared to myself that in 2017, my cover-ups would disappear. Here are four reasons why:

Stretch marks (and other perceived blemishes) don’t define you or me.

The truth is we all have things about our bodies we’d both love to erase and are reluctant to expose in public. My body bears the squiggly-lined evidence of years on the weight gain/weight loss journey. In other words: stretch marks. Throw in those loose wings under my arms that no amount of dumbbell workouts will make disappear. But you know what? Such is life. Years ago, I decided to let go of my discomfort over wearing sleeveless dresses and blouses. Why? Because my arms are my arms and my body is my body. It just didn’t matter to me anymore. Therefore, if I can throw on a sleeveless dress or blouse and keep it moving, I can do the same for a bathing suit, right? Right. Recently, I read this poignant quote by actress Danielle Brooks in People magazine. “Sometimes I’ll look at myself and be like, ‘Dang girl, you got a lot of stretch marks.’ But then I’m like, ‘That’s just the road map of my strength.'” Enough. Said.

The cuteness is real.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen a lot of amazing and stylish bathing suit fashions lately. Well, I want to see myself wearing said stylish suit, but not in the reflection of a mirror before I cover it up. Instead, picture us standing within the warm gaze of the sun, marveling at our bomb bathing suits while waves crash around us, our cover-ups discarded somewhere in a big pile of sand. Is that image giving you life or is it just me?

Body Talk.

You read earlier about my weight journey. A few years ago, after a lifetime of the weight struggle, I set some personal goals to improve my health and become more active. This resulted in a slimmer physique. Does that necessarily mean that my body image became this perfect, confident thing? Truthfully, it’s still a journey. But I’m proud of the hard work I did and continue to do! Simply stated: I no longer want to hide the efforts of this hard work behind a giant T-shirt.

The Beach is Hot.

Don’t get me wrong. There are lovely cover-ups out there; flowy, delicate, fashionable. But those aren’t the kind I wear. No, I typically find the shapeless, enormous ones that provide plenty of coverage and are pretty high on the disappearing-into-your-clothes factor. And then I sit on my beach chair and proceed to disintegrate from the heat. But why though? It’s already hot. Why do I make it worse by swimming, not in the ocean, but inside my clothes? Nope, nope, nope. It’s a wrap on that.

In the end, comfort zones are legitimately comfortable.

It’s hard to leave them. I completely acknowledge that it won’t happen overnight for me or you, if you’re a member of the Covered-Up club, too. However, I take promises to myself seriously. The cover may be on for a hot second, but trust that it will be coming off. Join me, won’t you?

Thanks for stopping by! What are your thoughts on walking away from that cover-up life? Check out more posts from my blog at www.okyerewa.com or find me on the ‘Gram at @shewrites_shewrites.

Cover photo courtesy of Lifesize Magazine

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Shirley Davis

Shirley Davis is a Ghanaian-American fictionista, blogger, and natural hair enthusiast who pretends not to be competitive when playing board games. You can find her on Instagram (@frowriter), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MondayGrrl), and Twitter (@shebeingme).

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