Surf's Up

Surf’s Up

After getting past the initial wave of being on my own and making the decision to leave my hostel for a slightly cleaner room (I woke up to a bug on my pillow the following morning… Um, no) I settled in a new spot in Tamarindo and made friends right away. It’s funny how life changes almost instantly when you just tweak the little things that aren’t working. For example, ever since I got to Costa Rica I have been saying that I wanted to learn how to surf. When I walked out into the common area at Hostel Pura Vida, I met two really nice girls who had a lesson scheduled for that exact day, and they invited me to join. Had I not left Bug City and tried someplace new I would have missed out on meeting some great people and the opportunity to try out something I’ve been excited to learn.

I’m sure it will surprise no one that my competitive spirit translates even to individual sports, and surfing is no different. Not only did I stand and ride several times in my first lesson, I was upgraded from the learner’s board to a real one and impressed my instructor with holding my own on a pretty big wave.

This isn’t to say I was a natural… Let me tell you something- surfing is HARD. If you aren’t careful, the ocean will kick your ass. Strong currents and the unpredictable waves of the Pacific led to quite a few injuries my first time out, including a gash to the thigh and what felt like a brief separation of the muscles and bones in my hips and legs. Between bug bites and bruises my legs have never looked hotter.

But that feeling of accomplishment, of conquering a fear and realizing strength, made it all worthwhile. Life is about taking risks, pushing yourself past your limit, trying things outside of your comfort zone. You may not succeed at everything… Believe me, I wiped out more times than I could count. And that’s ok. I learned from it.

After a few fails the first go-round my instructor, Jonathan, gave me some advice. “You know what you’re doing wrong? You’re looking down. Don’t look down.” Each time I hopped on the board and went for it Jonathan shouted the same thing, “Don’t look down!”

And you know what happened as soon as I started looking up? I rode my first wave. (Jonathan also called me by the wrong name the entire lesson, still can’t figure out why, but apparently my surfing persona is a woman named Maria).

Each day that I’m here I encounter a new person or experience that seems to guide me along the path of self-discovery. Sometimes it comes in the form of a reminder of my past, other times it comes as a sign to where I should take my future. While there’s still a lot to figure out and my overactive mind changes every day, one thing is for certain…

I’m no longer looking down.