Pier Ave.! What's Your Favorite Thing About Your Body?
Pier Ave. x Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA | 2:00-5:00pm | Saturday, April 4th
On Saturday, April 4th, 2026, I took my sign, and I headed back to Hermosa. It was a beautiful day, and I had a good feeling about the vibes.
It had been two weeks since I last took my sign out, and I was itching to get back into my community. The Hermosa Pier area is such a high-foot-traffic area on the weekends, and I wanted to see what it would be like to go there mid-day on a Saturday.
I decided to take a Lyft down to my spot, because it was a stunning day out, and I had a feeling there would be zero parking. I was dropped off right near the pier, so I walked on over and decided to stand by the blue clock at the intersection of Pier Ave. and Hermosa Ave.
I knew I would probably get less foot traffic in this location than when I stood at the intersection of the pier and the strand a few weeks back, but that’s all part of the experiment, right?
When I arrived at my location, I held my sign right up and smiled. People were looking at me, reading the sign, but it took a while for anyone to say anything to me.
The first person to respond was a teenage girl on her bike. She yelled over to me and said, “My hair!” to which I replied, “I love it! Thank you for answering!” I always love experiencing the first person to share - bold and brave, and probably don’t even realize how grateful I am to them for being the first person that day to answer my question. It always eases any fear I might have around whether people will take to my sign or not.
Next, a gentleman from an art booth 50 or so feet away came over and asked what I was doing. He replied, “My positive energy,” and asked what mine was. I said, “My ability to feel so deeply.”
And soon enough, more and more people were stopping by to ask what I was up to and answer my question.
I took some time after my time on the street to reflect after the experience and wrote down those that I remembered most:
“What’s Your Favorite Thing About Your Body?”
LOCATION: Pier Ave. x Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA
DATE: Saturday, April 4th, 2026
TIME: 2:00-5:00pm
Answers I heard:
My nose
My smile
My legs
My eyes
My feet
My heart
My brain
My hair
My lips
My hands
“Bum and boobs”
My ass
My ears
My dark skin
That it housed my baby
That I can think
That I can hike up a mountain
Its ability to heal itself
Everything
The theme that stuck out to me the most:
So many women said their boobs or butt. Pop off, QUEENS!
The number of people who continue to say their brain just blows me away.
First-Time Responses:
My birthmark
My stomach
My pancreas
Powerful responses that stood out:
One woman donated a kidney to her dad, who’d since passed on. And she got a tattoo over it.
One guy said, “The abs I can’t see yet.”
A man said, “All of my really good scars.”
One man, upon seeing my sign, gave a physical reaction and stopped over to answer. He said his curls — he had beautiful, tight curly hair — because he’d hated them for 26 years, and now they’re his favorite part.
A younger guy said his heart. He asked me mine. Then we exchanged a hug.
A visibly drunk guy said, “My face. Duh. Hello.”
A guy said their heart because without it, we wouldn’t get blood to our brain.
Dominic, a man with a skateboard and a heart monitor, stopped over enamored with my question. He said he can’t believe more people weren’t surrounding me to answer because we live in LA, and everyone here loves their bodies. He said his was the fact that he’s still here. He has a heart condition that limits his activity, but he’s been on a new medication and has been able to do more - like skateboarding and going in the ocean this day. He tried to rally people over to answer, and it was really kind.
Various groups that approached me:
I saw my friends Justine and Kyle! Justine said her smile, and Kyle said his eyes. It’s been SO MUCH FUN running into friends while out with my sign. Justine invited me to go watch the Arizona basketball game with them when I was done. (More on that later.)
A mom and her two kids came over. Her daughter waved hello, and the mom asked what her favorite thing was. She said, “My legs because I can move like this!” and proceeded to run in place. It was adorable. Her brother said his hips because they allow him to move too.
Two older women strolled over to answer. One said her height, and her friend said, “That’s my favorite thing about you too, her height! My favorite thing about my best friend’s body is her height.” It was a lovely exchange.
A group of 6 guys approached me, and one guy said his eyes because, despite them being small, he can see through people. Another one said his forehead - more room for brains. The group of friends was lightly making fun of each other for their answers, but it got them all talking and thinking.
A group of 4 women approach me to answer - two of them said their legs, one said her eyes, and the fourth couldn’t think of one. So her friends helped her out. She ended up saying her hair, which has had BEAUTIFUL, thick hair. I loved witnessing her friends brainstorm things they liked about her body, so she could maybe start to see herself in a new light.
I met two friends who had just recently met. They were visiting from the Midwest, and I had a Chicago hat on. We bonded over that. But they both loved the sign. The guy, Andy, said his brain, and Gllian said, “My legs - they help me run.”
Two dudes skated over to ask what I was doing. One guy answered his tonuge - because he speaks Spanish and can roll his R’s. His friend said that he has 8% body fat.
Stand out words of encouragement:
A gentleman told me that it was very noble and brave of me to be doing something good in this world. He explained the biblical references of John the Baptist getting his head cut off and Jesus being nailed to a cross for trying to push back and do good things. And though the world needs people to go against the status quo, we may not always win from it, which only added more fuel to my fire of continuing to do this work.
Someone noticed me from his friend being in one of my videos! That was SO cool.
Someone asked if I struggled with body image, and we had a brief exchange about how they do too, and how it’s such a universal experience.
Patterns I noticed:
Parents asking their kids happens a lot, and it’s always beautiful to hear the kids’ answers.
There was a lot of humor this day, and I am so here for it.
I have endless gratitude to those who yelled their answers from afar, who answered in quick passing, and who stopped over to chat and share with me more in-depth. This has proved to be an extremely powerful question to ask the people of my community - strangers and friends alike. I keep telling people, “This is your question to answer,” and it’s been incredible to listen to how people interpret it in such different and beautiful ways.
My chosen place to reflect: Surfer Girl at Sea Sprite Beach Club, Hermosa Beach, CA
I arrived around 5:15pm, with my sign in tow. When I walked in, the bartender kind of looked over at my like, “Why does that girl have a sign,” which I thought was hilarious. And I snagged a perfect spot at the bar in the sun and ordered a beverage. I opened my notebook to debrief.
I stopped by the bathroom before heading to meet my friends, and on my way out, a woman stopped me and said she saw me earlier at the pier. She asked about my sign, we chatted for a bit, and she mentioned she used to be a ballet dancer. She then asked how she can contribute to my work! It was such a wonderful moment. I gave her the options, and she decided she wants to record a conversation with me. So stay tuned!!
The After-Party:
I, then, went to meet Justine, Kyle, and our group of friends at a bar for the Arizona basketball game. I told them I’d have my sign and notebook with me, and they saved me a spot next to a wall to prop it up. When our friend Jack arrived, he grabbed my sign and went to ask his friends. This transpired into me asking random people at the bar what their favorite thing about their body is. I even met a few people who said they’d recognized me, from my cheetah pants and red t-shirt, as being the girl holding the sign earlier. One couple asked what the sign read. I told them. The woman, Anna, replied, “My ability to care so much.” And I started tearing up right there at the bar. Shortly after, a man replied his d*ck, but that’s to be expected at a bar, am I right?
Needless to say, I’m getting ~*iDeAs*~ for new places to bring my sign. And I’m looking forward to expanding the experiment. I truly am having the best time with it, and I cannot wait to continue to explore this to see where it takes us!
My favorite thing about my body that day was my ability to feel so deeply. I’m very sensitive and in tune with my emotions. And that feels like a superpower!
I’ll leave you with this: What’s your favorite thing about your body?
❤️🔥Megan
If you want to be a part of the conversation… either reach out to me via email at themegangill@gmail.com to schedule a conversation or fill out this form to share your body image story anonymously.
Do you have a friend, family member, or peer who might want to be part of the conversation? I’d be honored if you could help me spread the word about Continued Conversations
While I’m not a licensed therapist, registered dietician, or medical health professional and cannot speak to body image topics from a clinical, trauma-informed place, I am an expert of lived experience. I’m an academic of my own body, and I’m passionate about facilitating conversations with other humans about their relationships with their bodies. I believe it’s important to continue conversations about healthy body image in creative spaces as a means to heal individuals as well as the collective whole. But just know the information presented in this medium is not professional mental health advice or medical advice, and any questions or concerns you have should always be directed to your healthcare providers.