Riding the Wave

Whilst living in Peru, I have had the opportunity to have had some incredible experiences. Some of which took me way out of my comfort zone, like surfing in the Pacific Ocean. Being from a small town in Iowa and there aren’t many oceans nearby, but I knew that I loved swimming in lakes and kayaking so I figured, why not give surfing a shot. I quickly found out that it is a whole other ball game but I was determined to have a good time and learn a new skill.

Luckily for me, my host mom’s niece, Silvana Pastorelli, runs her own surf school, Olas Peru, and she was gracious enough to give me a lesson. She was an amazing instructor and taught me all of the fundamentals of surfing. She explained every movement step by step and guided and motivated throughout the whole session. Before even going into the water she told me that

“In life it is not about winning and losing. Sure it is great to win, but what is even better is learning from your losses and using them to grow and become stronger.”

She explained how surfing while it is all about balance, but the determination in someone to learn is what really leads to a successful outcome. Every time that you fall off the board you need to look at what went wrong and learn from it.

Keeping that in mind, I made sure to evaluate after each tumble off the board. I am happy to report that by the end of my hour course I was soaring through the water and had a very successful session. Going into this experience, I was satisfied just getting to be submerged in the Pacific Ocean, but I did not expect to be able to catch on as people often spend years perfecting their technique. Not only was I able to stand on my board the first time being in the water, but I was also able to ride the waves all the way in. I truly surprised myself at what I was able to accomplish, but I realized that often times we place numerous limits on what we can achieve. In reality, we can push ourselves to do so much more. I challenge you to ride the wave of life and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Seek discomfort by surrounding yourself with people who challenge you to become the best version of yourself because we are all destined to achieve greatness.

¡Hasta Luego!

~Stefany