Letters to myself to be read next time I freak out about wearing a
bathing suit in public
1. Dear Me,
Going to the swimming
pool is not the same as going to war.
Please, breathe deeply:
bathing suits are not
your enemy.
In the same way your
body has never been beach-body perfect,
it has always been
beach-body perfect,
remind yourself --
there is no danger
here.
2. Dear Me,
I would rather die than
speak to a child the way I speak to you.
It would never cross my
mind to do to anyone
what I have done to you,
I know
you do not deserve my
wrath
you were never meant to
be hurt.
I'm sorry.
3. Dear Me,
Your body is not wrong
this costume is not a
cone of shame,
not a dunce cap,
not a uniform meant to
display all evidence
of your failures
it is merely
a piece of clothing to
go swimming in.
Treat it as such.
4. Dear Me,
No one is looking
no one is judging
no one is waiting
to shame you,
all of this was already done
before you stepped
away
from the mirror.
5. Dear Me,
You are a woman
who can wear a bathing
suit in public.
The water cannot
possibly
be as cold and deep
as you imagine.
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