Surfing Looked Easy Enough. It Wasn't.

For as long as I can remember I wanted to learn how to surf. When I was a small child, I would go to the beach and watch surfers paddle into waves, pop up on their board and ride all the way to shore.

Into my teens, I would go to the beach with friends, and while they worked on their tans or played volleyball, I watched surfers.

I was completely fascinated by how incredibly easy they made surfing look. I mean, how hard can it be? I broke it down in steps.

Step 1. Paddle out.

Step 2. Sit on your board in the ocean and wait for a wave.

Step 3. Turn around when you see a wave and paddle.

Step 4. Stand up.

Easy.

When I finally got someone to take me surfing, I was in for a very rude awakening.

Step 1 seemed like the easiest of all, paddle out. I quickly learned that timing is everything. And I mean everything. So is the art of duck diving, which is when you go under the wave with your board. I had yet to learn how.

I paddled as hard as I could, only to get pummeled by a wave. By the time I recovered and got back on my board, I was worked by another wave. By the time I actually made it out to the line-up, I was exhausted, and if I'm being honest, a little frightened.

Step 2 took a while, which was a good thing since I need to recover from my what I call my tumble in the washing machine. As I sat on my board, I watched wave after wave peak and other surfers ride them to shore. I wasn't ready to try yet; I needed time to rebuild my courage.

Step 3 was soon upon me, and I couldn't put it off any longer. I saw a wave coming, and I had some of my confidence back, so I readied myself. I turned my board around and paddled hard. I felt the wave pick up my board. When I thought that I had the wave, I moved on to the next step.

Step 4 is the best step and I was convinced that I could master this step. As I began to stand up, I saw the nose of my board dip into the water and I unceremoniously tumbled forward. I wiped out, hard. The technical term for what happened to me is called pearling and it can be quite frightening.

Not only did I get worked in the wave, but I was really disoriented underwater. For a second, I had no idea which way was up. When I finally righted myself, I popped up to the surface of the water and took a huge breath of air.

Unfortunately for me there was a wave that was right behind the one I had wiped out on and that wave had my pilotless board heading straight for me. My instincts told me to dive back under the water and shield my head with my arms. I did and narrowly missed getting hit in the head by my wayward board.

When I came back to the surface, I swam to my board and paddled to shore.

I was beaten.

So many times people have told me they tried surfing with almost the exact same results on their first try. They too were frightened and exhausted.

As scary as my first experience was, I vowed not to give up. I knew that I would try again. I knew that I would find someone who could teach me, someone who knew how to teach me.

Eventually, I did. But as for this day, I was done.