Last summer I went to Jamaica. Like many vacations, I spent weeks planning what I would pack. But unlike many of my previous trips, I made a decision before I left... I was going to wear the swimsuits I actually wanted to wear. Not the ones that hid the most. Not the ones that made me look the smallest. The ones I liked. So I packed a different swimsuit for every day of the trip. Some were bikinis. Some were bright colors. Some showed more skin than I would have ever been com

I have 30 tattoos as of today. Some of them have deep meaning. Some of them commemorate important moments in my life. Some represent people I love. And some? Some are simply because I thought they looked cool. And honestly, I think that's enough of a reason. As a plus-size woman, I've noticed that people often have opinions about tattoos on larger bodies. Will they stretch? What if you gain weight? What if you lose weight? What if you don't like it when you're older? Can you

For years, I convinced myself there were swimsuits for people like me and swimsuits for everyone else. As a plus-size woman, I thought my only option was a one-piece with maximum coverage and minimum attention. Every summer, I searched for a swimsuit that would somehow make me look smaller, flatter, or more acceptable. I wasn't shopping for something I loved...I was shopping for something that hid me. The message was everywhere: cover your arms, hide your stomach, wear black,