Learning: Surfing
Sometime in late 2021, I had a sudden urge to learn how to surf. Why? I still don’t know where all that strong passion stemmed from, but I planned a trip with a couple of cousins to head to LA and surf every day for a week.
In February of 2022, I started my journey to become a surfer at Venice Beach. For some context, I usually don’t enjoy water sports and didn’t really have access to them growing up. So, being in the ocean and in water, in general, was new territory for me. Despite that, my cousins and I suited up for our first lesson and were ready to head to the vast unknown.
Each lesson was about two hours long, where the beginning of each was spent on dry land practicing something called the “pop up”. This is arguably the most important aspect of surfing. How you pop up will determine whether or not you will stand or fall off. It’s key to know when and how to adjust your feet to keep balance and to pop up quickly enough to not miss the opportunity that the wave brings.
Another aspect of surfing that I was completely negligent of was understanding the ocean. After speaking with my instructor, I realized that there was so much about the ocean that I was ignorant of. For example, different points of the wave, current patterns, and high and low tides. Even the time of the month and day affects how choppy or smooth the waves will be. For the surfers on Venice Beach, these nuances were as natural as breathing and I was honestly jealous of their intimacy with the ocean. I can’t wait for the day I actually understand what they're saying.
There were so many challenges that came with tackling surfing. The first that I struggled with was that my arms would get extremely sore and tired by just walking our surfboards to our desired locations, especially my forearms. After that, it was a constant struggle to swim out to get in position for the wave. Sometimes the water level was low and I could just walk the 9ft board out, but other times the waves grew so large that I had to either dive under the wave or cling to the board to stay afloat.
At times, I would get so rocked by the waves that by the time I got into position, a wipeout was inevitable. But for some reason, it was addicting. After every wipeout, my body would spring up and start fighting the waves again for my next chance to get it right. Every failure was one step closer to potential success. It was honestly so much fun!
Toward the end of my week-long journey, I was starting to stand and ride out the foam. I was constantly tweaking my form and making mental notes to myself, but I think my biggest feat was finding comfort in the ocean.
As with any skill, it only comes with practice. Unfortunately, I hail from Chicago, Illinois, where surfing isn’t as accessible, but I plan to return to Venice to continue to work on this newfound hobby!
For those waiting for a push to try something new, here is that push. Put away all your hesitations, grab a couple of friends for support, and just give it a go! You never know how it could change your perspective on life.