Surfing with Sel

IN MY TEENS I BECAME OBSESSED WITH SURFING.

I lived in landlocked upstate New York and got a taste of riding waves in the summers. It’s why I moved to Hawai’i after high school. I figured “if I’m going to go to school anywhere I might as well be surfing the best waves.”

Surfing has done so much for me physically and mentally, like golf it has this ridiculously slow learning curve, you are forced to sit with your thoughts, and when it’s your turn to shoot your shot the focus is in the moment and in the moment only otherwise you’ll “kook it.” You have to be laser sharp, connected, and aware of your surroundings, and at the same time you have to stay calm and collected (because it’s when you start getting rattled that things deteriorate quickly).

Mental fortitude is huge, but I’m going to flip what this post is about now: Surfing did something else for me that’s even more important. In the process of “being aware of my surroundings” I developed an immense sense of gratitude for nature and the ocean. I always loved being outside, but this was different. The ocean was not just my playground, it felt like more, it felt like my home.  It gave me comfort and joy in a way I hadn’t experienced before, so naturally, I became active in learning more about it and then eventually in finding ways to protect it.

One of the biggest threats to our oceans is plastic pollution. I believe in progress, I know that it’s impossible to become a waste free / plastic free society overnight. But we CAN take actionable steps to DO BETTER. And every little action counts! Jane Goddall said that "the greatest danger to our future is apathy" Let’s work to be more mindful of our footprint! I want to invite you all to commit to eliminating ONE wasteful habit, start small so that it's DOABLE. "I will commit to using reusable water bottles" "i will car-pool x times a week" "I'm going to start a garden, and buy from local farmers" EVERY LITTLE ACTION COUNTS! <3"