Carly MooreI am slightly embarrassed to admit that I once considered not traveling because of my figure.
It was when I was planning my trip to Thailand, facing a month of skimpy tanks and bikinis, and my confidence was down in the gutter.
“If I plan the trip for x date, that will give me y months to get fit enough to go,” I thought. Except I knew I would never really get fit enough to look like I thought I needed to, which made me want to give up and not go at all.
And I’m willing to bet I’m not the only person in the world who has thought or felt something similar.
I was 26 years old and not comfortable with my body, which is completely ridiculous considering I’m one of those people who doesn’t give a crap about what people think.
Part of it was because I’d been brainwashed by what society’s idea of an “acceptable” body, the other part was all in my head.
After fiddling with my tour dates every day for weeks, I finally got so exasperated with the idea of needing to change myself to travel, that I just said to hell with it and paid for my ticket. I was going traveling with curves and that was the end of it.
Instead of focusing on what I saw as my flaws, I tried to focus instead on what I loved about myself. And it worked! I went to Thailand and confidently rocked my bikini body by putting a bikini on my body and flouncing around on the beach.
Nobody said anything to me to make me feel like I wasn’t accepted for not being a model size. Nobody burst into flames when they laid eyes on my scantily clad figure. The only thing that did happen, besides getting a sunburn, was that I gradually started to accept myself.
Since then, I have travelled to ten more countries, and not once did I give a crap about my curves. I even sprawled on a nude beach in Nice and got my tan on.
The thing is – if you don’t like what you see then don’t look at me. I don’t care anymore and you shouldn’t either!
If someone tries to make you feel bad for traveling with curves, I encourage you to picture yourself punching them in the throat and then pity them, because their closed-mindedness is stopping them from seeing how amazing you actually are.
Confidence is the key to all your beauty – because you are beautiful. If you don’t believe it, find a way to prove yourself wrong! Your shape does not dictate what you can or cannot do, or if you should or shouldn’t be happy.
Put on that dress, wear that bright lipstick, strut down the street. It doesn’t matter how, just move forward through your life with confidence. I promise you will feel better for it.
So please remember: You don’t need to look a certain way to travel anywhere. You are already confident, strong, and ready to take on the entire world. So go!
