Q: Dear Lara, I’m feeling self-conscious about being in a bathing suit in front of people this summer. What should I do?

A: I used to be very self-conscious about my body and hated being in a bathing suit. Living in California, situations where wearing a bikini is involved comes up a lot; and, after a certain point, excuses run out and stepping out in nearly nothing is inevitable. After a few back and forth conversations with friends, I realized that I was the only person focusing on my body and how it looked. Everyone else was just happy to be in the sun and couldn’t care less what I looked like. Ultimately, they were just happy I was there, enjoying myself.