My First Time to Surf

It was semestral break from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. We just got half of our 13th month pay in the office. Next stop: La Union.


Surfing was never my sport. For one, though it's hard to admit, i don't know how to swim. I was seldom involved in water activities. One of our friends in the office invited us to actually try it out. At first, I was very hesitant since i don't know how to swim and I didn't want to put my self in a position where my life will be in danger. He assured me that it is perfectly safe. First, we will be doing it on shallow waters. And two, there are many surfers and swimmers in the area, so the possibility of someone drowning is very minimal. After serious consideration, I finally said yes. What the heck. I ride roller coasters. I travel at night to go to work. If it is my time to die, may it be at home or in the office or out of town, it will be my time to die. So I committed to the surfing activity in San Juan, La Union, and everything was set.

The group was divided into three cars and there were around 18 of us on the trip. I only knew roughly a third of them, so mostly were new friends. We left Cubao at around 11pm and arrived the next day at around 8am. We unpacked our things and immediately visited the beach front. After a couple of minutes of picture taking and a short tour of the resort, we went back to the house to eat breakfast.

Then it was time to hit the waters and learn how to surf. We were first introduced to the natives / coaches. Each one of us was assigned one coach and one surfboard. There was a 10minute seminar to learn the basics of surfing, from balancing, to controlling the surfboard and to anticipating the waves. And now, it was off to the races.

All of us went to the water at the same time. But one by one, each of my friends were able to get onto the board and learn to surf from the ocean to the beach side. It was kind of frustrating for me because I had a hard time balancing myself. Each time I tried to adjust my stance and my form, there would be another thing that I have to improve on. Sadly, the day ended and still, I wasn’t able to surf.

Even though we just spent an hour on surfing, it was a very tiring activity. My entire body ached. We still had plans of drinking in the evening but after lunch and a couple of hours talking with each other, most of us hit the sack.

We went on round two of surfing 101 the next day, and fortunately, my surfing skills improved. Even though I did not perfect the skill yet, I finished two runs and for me, that is already an accomplishment. I consider any improvement on my part as an accomplishment. I know, with further practice and additional trips to surfing sites. I will improve on my ability to surf and perfect the sport.

It has been 6 months since my last surfing trip and due to scheduling constraints; I was unable to join the 3 trips that have occurred since then. Those two days were indeed a very memorable experience for me. It is something that I want to do again when I have my spare time. Sooner or later (hopefully by this year) I can get by to the new sport that I just recently learned and get back to the ocean and own the waves underneath me.