What I Learned After My First Time On A Surfboard
You’ll get used to falling, after a while.
When I started writing the draft of this story, my muscles were sore, I felt a faint pain from the jellyfish sting on my ankle, and a rolling sensation of the waves in my body. It was a good day, because I went surfing for the first time.
I wanted to go surfing for a very long time. Sure, I had some experience in windsurfing and stand-up paddle boarding, but it just wasn’t the same. I did these activities on lakes and small rivers, but I had never experienced water sports in a salt, wavy sea.
My problem was that I never knew where to start. I questioned if it was even possible to surf in my country (the Netherlands), because the waves weren’t at least 3 meters (10 feet) high like you see on TV all the time.
I spoke to my friend, who had some surf-experience already, about my cluelessness in surfing. She assured me that it actually is possible to get on a board here, even if the waves are small. Hell, she even told me I should be glad they’re small, because it means the waves would actually be surfable for a beginner like me.
After our conversation, we got more and more excited about the whole thing. My friend and I planned a day in summer, drove to a nearby surf school and took a 2-hour…
