the ocean was calm. this was a world-famous beach known for its waves. the beach was a combination of sand and palm-sized stones we had to navigate around in order to reach the water. my beginner surfboard was rather large for my small physique. i balanced the board on my head as i stepped into the water making sure not to cut my feet on the rocks.<\/p>\n
once i made it far enough into the water, i put both my hands on either side of the board and pushed myself off the sandy floor and onto the board. i managed to flop stomach down on the board and almost immediately slid off. weird, i thought. i tried again. both hands on either side of the board, i pushed off again and this time made sure to pay attention to where i landed. i aimed for the middle and somehow made it on. only then was i met with the battle of balancing myself while paddling out. the board tilted from left to right, my uncoordinated body struggling to maintain stability. this was much more difficult than i thought, and i had not even gotten to the actual surfing part! <\/p>\n
i navigated myself through the channel and to the spot where andrea sat. she positioned each of the girls and gave a push as waves approached. it was my turn. i swam my board over to her and sat stomach down, arms positioned at my rib cage, gripping the board. my heart was racing. i had been waiting for this! the wave approached and i felt andrea\u2019s push sending me a moment ahead of the wave. let\u2019s go, let\u2019s go, let\u2019s go! the ocean water sprayed my face as i propelled myself upwards, planting each of my feet underneath me and doing my best to stand up as quickly as i could. i was up. i was up! <\/p>\n
![\"the](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0efc0290-b6ea-41d1-830a-046c6c4ff193.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"the](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/a9b71ba3-7501-40e2-93ea-86c106f8082b.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
my left foot behind and my right in front, i lifted my arms to balance. what a feeling! it was short-lived, i soon felt the board tilt and i plunged into the water. i bobbed up to the surface, my adrenaline surging. i could feel everything. my blood pumping, the sounds of the ocean and my fellow surfers cheering for me, the sand on my feet, the water running off my face. i looked all around me, i wanted to take every aspect of this moment in. the ocean had taught me my first lesson. i had so many preconceived notions of how this was going to go and was surprised at how wrong i was. i loved it. i was ready to have the best month of my life.<\/p>\n
![\"the](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2f78e68f-c0ca-49ae-b719-0d10413984a3.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
surf\u2019s up! learning to fall flat, get up, and keep going while abroad in costa rica.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4902,4923],"tags":[206,4813,665,4814],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-11001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-colleges-education","category-oceans","tag-education","tag-lessons","tag-oceans","tag-surfing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n