One With the Board
by Paulina Oswald
This summer, I learned how to surf and it was the best experience ever. I woke up to a picturesque morning for a walk on the beach. The sun was just rising, the water was like glass and the world was awash in golden light. I love mornings because it is like the world is holding its breath and everything is quiet. It is almost as if there are no humans left in the world but me.
I walked to the end of the island, where a bird sanctuary was, and I had to turn around. According to the sign, it’s nesting season for some seabirds, so the cove where the birds nest is off limits. During my walk, I picked up many interesting shells and sea glass. I think sea glass is really quite wonderful because they were once bottles that someone drank from and left on the beach by accident. Over time, the bottle gets broken up and smoothed by the waves into beautiful pieces of glass. It just shows you that something sharp and dangerous can be smoothed and made lovely in the process of time.
When I got back to my block’s beach, my Uncle Tiger, who is a chiropractor, was surfing. He is the fitness junkie in my family because he’s not married and he wants to attract the ladies, or that’s just the impression I get from him. He was nicknamed Tiger because when he was a baby, he used to make little roaring noises, much like a tiger. My Uncle Tiger is just a beginning surfer and he can’t stay standing on a surfboard for a lengthy time, but he’s a strong swimmer and a major beach bum. He asked me if I wanted to try out his new board, to which I replied “Yes, of course I would!” It has always been an ambition of mine to learn how to surf because I watched too many surfing movies as a kid to not like surfing. Lilo and Stich and Surf’s Up to name but a few. I also see lots of people surfing on the beach and it looks really thrilling and at the same time, congenial.
After putting the plastic rope that is attached to the surfboard onto my ankle, (also called the leash), Uncle Tiger and I were ready to commence surfing. The leash is there so you can keep track of your surfboard and not lose it. After an extremely awkward walk into the waves, with Uncle Tiger carrying my board and me still attached to it by the leash, (whenever he walked forward, I sort of tripped), I was kind of nervous that I would get munched on by a shark like Soul Surfer. But I needn’t have worried, sharks only come out in the nighttime hours.
My first couple of waves weren’t too successful; I kept tumbling forward as soon as I stood up, but I adjusted most of my weight to the back of the board and it worked worlds better. And then- there it was- the perfect wave. I slid onto the board with my head facing the beach and paddled as hard and as fast as I could. When the wave caught up with me I stood up and whoosh! I was going as fast as a train with the wave thundering below me. We were flying, the board and I, like comets in space. It was beautiful, and then it was over.
See, when you are a beginner and you can’t steer very well, you have to jump off before you run out of ocean. Normally you just jump off backwards so you don’t get (as Uncle Tiger says) “clocked” in the head, and I tried to do that, but the ocean had other ideas. Somehow, the board got turned around so when I came up for air, it still clocked me in the head. Not only that, I got choked by the leash. But that’s life I suppose; you get the good with the bad.
But it was the most breathtaking, whimsical, amazing experience in my life. And I will hold it in my heart for a great while. I long to try again.
This summer, I learned how to surf and it was the best experience ever. I woke up to a picturesque morning for a walk on the beach. The sun was just rising, the water was like glass and the world was awash in golden light. I love mornings because it is like the world is holding its breath and everything is quiet. It is almost as if there are no humans left in the world but me.
I walked to the end of the island, where a bird sanctuary was, and I had to turn around. According to the sign, it’s nesting season for some seabirds, so the cove where the birds nest is off limits. During my walk, I picked up many interesting shells and sea glass. I think sea glass is really quite wonderful because they were once bottles that someone drank from and left on the beach by accident. Over time, the bottle gets broken up and smoothed by the waves into beautiful pieces of glass. It just shows you that something sharp and dangerous can be smoothed and made lovely in the process of time.
When I got back to my block’s beach, my Uncle Tiger, who is a chiropractor, was surfing. He is the fitness junkie in my family because he’s not married and he wants to attract the ladies, or that’s just the impression I get from him. He was nicknamed Tiger because when he was a baby, he used to make little roaring noises, much like a tiger. My Uncle Tiger is just a beginning surfer and he can’t stay standing on a surfboard for a lengthy time, but he’s a strong swimmer and a major beach bum. He asked me if I wanted to try out his new board, to which I replied “Yes, of course I would!” It has always been an ambition of mine to learn how to surf because I watched too many surfing movies as a kid to not like surfing. Lilo and Stich and Surf’s Up to name but a few. I also see lots of people surfing on the beach and it looks really thrilling and at the same time, congenial.
After putting the plastic rope that is attached to the surfboard onto my ankle, (also called the leash), Uncle Tiger and I were ready to commence surfing. The leash is there so you can keep track of your surfboard and not lose it. After an extremely awkward walk into the waves, with Uncle Tiger carrying my board and me still attached to it by the leash, (whenever he walked forward, I sort of tripped), I was kind of nervous that I would get munched on by a shark like Soul Surfer. But I needn’t have worried, sharks only come out in the nighttime hours.
My first couple of waves weren’t too successful; I kept tumbling forward as soon as I stood up, but I adjusted most of my weight to the back of the board and it worked worlds better. And then- there it was- the perfect wave. I slid onto the board with my head facing the beach and paddled as hard and as fast as I could. When the wave caught up with me I stood up and whoosh! I was going as fast as a train with the wave thundering below me. We were flying, the board and I, like comets in space. It was beautiful, and then it was over.
See, when you are a beginner and you can’t steer very well, you have to jump off before you run out of ocean. Normally you just jump off backwards so you don’t get (as Uncle Tiger says) “clocked” in the head, and I tried to do that, but the ocean had other ideas. Somehow, the board got turned around so when I came up for air, it still clocked me in the head. Not only that, I got choked by the leash. But that’s life I suppose; you get the good with the bad.
But it was the most breathtaking, whimsical, amazing experience in my life. And I will hold it in my heart for a great while. I long to try again.