Our bodies *can* do hard things, but they *do* do hard things, too 🏄🏽‍♀️

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a surf camp in Costa Rica, and it was one of the best weeks of my life!

Now, if you’ve never really thought of yourself as a surfer, fret not, for before January 2022, I never thought of myself as one, either. I was convinced it was for people who were smaller than me, more athletic than me, and - if I’m being completely honest - for people better looking than me. 

But since starting Alpine Parrot, I have been doing a lot of work to give myself a break, and stop asking “what is appropriate for me to do, given my size?” and instead ask “what would I do, if there was no one telling me what’s appropriate for me to do?”

And y’all: if there were no sports police (spoiler: there aren’t any), I would try EVERYTHING. So I tried surfing a couple of years ago as a stereotypical tourist in Hawai’i, where I was basically put on a stand up paddleboard, taught a basic stand-up maneuver, and was able to stand up on the board (albeit briefly) within two one-hour lessons. It was cool! It was fun! And frankly, it wasn’t enough. 

Because once you get past the fact that you can do a hard thing, you might want to do the hard thing more than once.

Back in California, where the water is FRIGID, I went through the thoroughly excruciating and more than a little depressing process of finding a wetsuit. And then I got a board and got to work - and failed miserably. Over and over again, I could barely catch a wave, much less stand up on the board. And then we moved to San Francisco, and I got too nervous to try to surf again.

But that little voice in the back of my head, the one that knew it wanted to play but didn’t feel confident enough to do so? I gave it space and thought: what if, instead of giving up on this, I went out and found confidence instead? What would that look like?

I decided to sign up for a surf camp, and I’m so glad I did! Over the course of the week, I got personalized coaching and so many opportunities to safely try, try, and try again. I even ended the week being able to stand up on a traditional longboard on my own 🎉

What I love about surfing is that it’s truly for any and every body - the hardest part is understanding how to find the right configuration of your body, the board, and the ocean. There’s no “right” way to surf, and it’s well known that the best surfer is the one having the most fun. I found that when I let go of my need to be the best at something and embraced the opportunity to be a total beginner, I had an incredible time. I’m fully and thoroughly hooked now, and have a lot more confidence to get out on some more waves (and am already saving up for my next surf camp, to be sure) 😊

What does this mean for you? Try hard things - and if you like them, continue to do them! You don’t need my permission, but I’ll give it to you anyway: not only can you do hard things, you do do hard things, too. 💪🏽