Pick your wave and look cool

On the first real day of our tour, we stayed at Surf Camp. I wish I would've grabbed a few pics of where we stayed... because it's going to be hard to believe when I tell you about it. 4 people to a room, no carpet, barely any room to pass the other girls staying in my room, sliding doors that closed crooked, a bathroom with no shower curtain, and on top of all this, it was down pouring the entire time we were there and about 50 degrees out. I didn't mind, I wasn't there for spectacular accommodations, I was there to cross out a line on my buck list: Learn To Surf.

When I came to Australia, I expected every Aussie man to be super tan, have beach blonde hair, and be carrying a surf board where ever they went... I finally found those guys at surf camp! Our instructors were super laid back and partyed with us the night before lessons and made the whole experience heaps of fun!

The best surf is in the morning, so we were all up before the sun. At least I thought we were, its not like we would've saw it anyway with the how intensely it was raining! We got out to the beach and had a really quick lesson on how to paddle out, pop up, and look cool. Looking cool and howling like a wolf made up the majority of the lesson, technique was very secondary... I only noticed this when I was paddling out and thinking, "What the hell am I actually doing out here??!"

The waves were coming in so fast, one after the other, crashing into my face. They were so tough to fight! I was getting really worked up about not catching every good wave that came in. There were so many great ones to catch! We all had to take our turn, not just one person could catch every wave.

Same way in life: there is no way you can take advantage of every single opportunity that comes your way. Pick the ones that work best for you, big or small.

One instructor noticed how hard I was fighting the waves and offered to help out. He was like, "Don't get pissed like you are, just pick your wave, let it come to you, and RELAX! Don't tense up. You got this." After I put a smile on my face and worked with the ocean instead of against it, success found me! I popped up on the board a couple times, put my arms out, and looked cool, just like they told us to on the beach! I completely forget all the technique, and just went out there and did it, and it worked!!

Right now in my life, I am stressing out a lot about my future. I look over my transcript and think, "Who would ever hire this kid?" I worried about not having enough experience, or missing an opportunity. So many paths to take and am I doing everything right to ensure a strong future for myself and my future family? This is the stuff I loose sleep over. I fear that I won't have a purpose or make a difference when I grow up.

I don't know what waves are coming my way. I don't have total control over those waves either. I trust in God that he will put some stellar waves in my ocean and I need to have faith that he will guide me through the rough ones that crash in my face. I have to trust his will for me. Fighting the way God has laid out for us is like fighting the waves while surfing: totally unnecessary. God wants us to be happy and enjoy the life he has in store for us. It's a waste of spirit to fight it, just ride it!!

This experience taught me not to stress out about catching every wave. Pick your wave, fight for it, don't tense up, and ride it till the end... oh yes, and look cool doing it.