When summer comes

Summer is coming.

The stores announce it,
the photos on social media,
the shop windows filled with light clothes,
and the beach plans that everyone seems to be waiting for.

And I look at myself in the mirror.

I look for too long.

I search for flaws where others see a person,
I count curves as if they were mistakes,
I learn to hate parts of myself
that are only doing their job:
existing.

While others count down the days
until they can wear a swimsuit,
I count down the days
until I feel watched again.

I think I take up too much space.

Too much body.
Too many doubts.
Too many insecurities.

And then I convince myself
that summer was not made for girls like me.

But summer comes anyway.

It arrives without asking how much I weigh,
without requesting measurements,
without checking whether I fit into a certain size.

The sun does not choose who it warms.

The sea does not ask for perfect bodies.

The sand keeps no list
of who deserves to enjoy it.

And still,
there are days when I believe
it would be easier to love myself
if I were smaller.

Thinner.

More like the girls
who smile without fear in photographs.

But every night,
when silence quiets the noise of comparisons,
one truth remains that I try to remember:

my body is not the enemy.

It is the place where all my laughter has lived,
all my hugs,
all my memories.

And maybe I do not see it as beautiful yet.

Maybe tomorrow
I will find flaws again.

But I want to learn,
little by little,
to treat myself with the same kindness
I would give to any other girl
crying in front of a mirror.

Because summer is coming.

And I deserve to feel the sun on my skin,
run toward the sea,
laugh without hiding,
and exist without apologizing
for the space I take up.