With summer around the corner, everybody’s preparing for warmer weather and for their summer body, whether by going to the gym or through eating better. However, although summer is coming, you don’t need that perfect summer body.

Regardless of how you look or where you are with your summer body, the only important thing to remember is that you surround yourself with people who love and support you.

Your friends and family don’t care if you have abs or a toned body. They care about your happiness and creating new memories with you.

Summer isn’t about seeing who has the most toned body. Niether isn’t it about comparing yourself to someone else because they have the “better body."

Summer is about hanging out with the people you love and creating memories you never want to forget.

Forget what other people think about. Don’t let “the perfect summer body" prevent you from having the time of your life. The number on your scale does not define you. The people who love you most don’t care about how you look.

It doesn’t matter if you have the slimmest body or if you’re thicker than all of your friends, all that matters is that you are happy with yourself. The number on your scale is just another number. Your weight and your body do not define who you are as a person. It’s important to know that you are beautiful regardless of what you look like. It’s important for you all to know your self-worth.

I know it becomes harder to believe that you look good and it’s easier said than done to ignore what people think of you.

Throughout all of middle and high school, I was extremely insecure about my body. My friends used to call me stupid because they said I didn’t have a reason to be insecure since I was “so thin." But I got teased often for having a flat butt, no curves, and basically “having the body of a 10-year-old boy." It made me insecure and I used to hate wearing bikinis and tight clothing because of that. But I started surrounding myself with people who loved me regardless of what I looked like. I surrounded myself with people who thought I was beautiful regardless of what I lacked.

For those of you who think you need that “perfect summer body," I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t exist. What matters the most is how YOU feel in your own skin and body. You certainly don’t need anyone else’s approval.

If you’re struggling to come to terms with your body, surround yourself with people who want to see you happy. Surround yourself with people who lift you up and call you beautiful. Surround yourself with people who teach you to love your body.

YOU are beautiful.

We all have different shapes and bodies and that’s fine! We’re all beautiful regardless and you most certainly don’t need to work on your summer body to get approval from people who won’t matter to you five years from now.

Therefore, embrace the body you have and learn to love it because the only opinion that matters, is yours. Forget that “perfect" summer body and focus on making memories with the people you love.