<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Do you remember how terrified I was of wearing a bathing suit a few months ago? It had been three years since I last ventured to the beach because of my body insecurities. But this past weekend, when my family invited me to the Jersey Shore, I surprised myself (and everyone else) by accepting the invitation! I wasn&amp;#x27;t exactly thrilled by the idea of ME in a bathing suit, but I put on a little beach skirt and went anyway. Do you know what finally pushed me to go? It was this old photo my darling cousin Stephanie came across recently. She snapped a photo with her phone and sent it to me: Not exactly the greatest photo. That was me, about four years ago, in a bathing suit. Long before I cared about what I was feeding my body, and before Body by Glamour. I feel like a completely different person now. Normally photos like that make me cringe, but it was such a great reminder of how far I&amp;amp;#8217;ve come. And it inspired me to put aside my issues with my body long enough to enjoy a day at the beach. If there&amp;amp;#8217;s one thing I&amp;amp;#8217;ve learned in the past few months, it&amp;amp;#8217;s that I shouldn&amp;amp;#8217;t let my imperfections--big or small--stop me from enjoying life. I&amp;amp;#8217;ve done that for WAY too long. Here are a couple of photos from Saturday (The bathing suit is from the brilliant folks at Shape FX, by the way.): Going to the beach also made me realize that I view other people&amp;amp;#8217;s bodies differently now as well. I think it has to do with the gradual change in mindset about my own body. There were plenty of beer bellies and dimpled thighs among the six packs, and super-toned arms on the boardwalk. But so what? I added my not-so-toned tummy and jiggly inner thighs (among other things) to the mix. People are imperfect, and that&amp;amp;#8217;s OK. I found it empowering and refreshing! Do you cringe when you see old photos of yourself, or does it inspire you? And what do you think of the fact I wore a cover up--was it a cop out? And have you ever NOT experienced something wonderful because you were too self-conscious? I don&amp;amp;#8217;t want to live with those kinds of regrets anymore. You? I hope not! Please share! Plus: Have you read the bikini manifesto? The number one way to beat cellulite Get Glamour Wherever You Go! Follow us on Twitter. Friend us on Facebook. Add us to your Google homepage."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/shape-up/2009/08/the-photo-that-inspired-me-to>