A Passion Clouded with Blood
Bethany Hamilton and Her Return to the Water
The water was blue.
With waves carrying height and crushing speeds. It was an average morning at Tunnels Beach and they were ready to surf. Bethany Hamilton, her brother Bryon, father Holt, and best friend Alana Blanchard arrived at the beach at around 7:30 am, and in hindsight they would have never even shown up if they knew what was about to happen.
The water wasn’t blue anymore. A fourteen foot long tiger shark had attacked and bitten the left arm clean off of a thirteen year old girl along with a large chunk of her surfboard. The bright red color of her own blood had consumed the water around her. The water was red.
Blood red. Despite everything that happened that morning, this brave girl found a way to push through it. After her recovery, she mentioned how she was not scared, and actually felt somewhat calm. This small difference in her behavior after the attack is what saved her life. Even though she lost sixty percent of her blood, staying calm kept her blood pressure low helping stop anymore additional blood loss. Hamilton was on the road to success. Up until the attack she had already won two competitions in the United States. The Rell Sun Menehune and the Open Women’s Division of the NSSA. She was a young girl set out to accomplish great things and the sky was the limit. Would this setback indefinitely keep her from being able to win competitions? Would she even be a challenge against her non-handicapped competitors? She could just succumb to the reality of the situation and give up surfing altogether. Would she be capable of surfing without an arm? Could she even build up the courage to get back into the water?
Bethany is in the water again. She made herself a promise that day and she kept it. She would get back in the water and surf again no matter how scared she was. Twenty-six days after the attack she did just that. She paddled out, found a solid wave, got ready to surf, and failed. Then she did what most would not. She failed again. She failed all day until her dad told her to get out of the water and come inside. She ended her first day back in the water a failure. But she didn’t stay one. Passion conquered fear, and within a year Hamilton was competing at a national level.
“I had really frustrating days… Some days I would go into the water and come out of the water crying, but I just kept at it.”
She wasn’t the same person from that morning on Tunnels Beach. Hamilton continued to push herself. She kept at it and never gave up. True passion shows itself in the face of difficulty, and Bethany had her fair share. A girl who had a sponsorship by the age of eight and was winning state competitions in the most popular surfing state in the nation. As she got older and more experienced at surfing with one arm she began to compete against the best surfers in the world. Yes, the world. I know I’ve told you before, but this is just astonishing. She suffered through something terrifying. A nightmare for some, but for her… a Reality. She told reporters “When I first returned to surfing, I was very afraid of sharks,” and I am sure she still is. That fear never kept her from doing what she did next. In under two years after she lost her arm, Bethany Hamilton received first place at the Explorer Women’s division of the 2005 National Scholastic Surfing Association National Championships. This was her first national title ever, and she did it under unparalleled circumstances.
Growing up every kid wants to be the best. To do great things. I bet when you were little there was someone you looked up to and aspired to become. When it comes to sports most kids want to get to the pinnacle of their sport’s respected industry. In 2007, Hamilton’s dream came true when she turned pro. She continued to surf at a highly competitive level participating in world renowned events while sharing her story as she traveled the globe. Many will look at Hamilton and see pain. They will describe her as disabled or handicapped. Bethany uses the loss of her left arm as a motivator. An everyday reminder to push herself harder and let her competitors know she is a threat in the water. When she first returned to surfing know one bothered to consider her their competition. But know she is the surfer to beat. The surfer to best in order to prove yourself. Bethany Hamilton, Soul Surfer, is the embodiment of passion, and her story proves that obstacles are barriers made to be overcome.
