5 Life Lessons I Learned In Surfing

I first experienced Surfing back in 2007 along with my high school friends.

It was in Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales where we went for the ZFest event. I didn’t know that we’re going to be surfing. I thought it was just a barkada outing where we’ll bum on the beach and get drunk till dawn.

It was raining hard that time due to the landfall of Typhoon Egay (Sepat is the International Name), but this was fortunate (for us) since there will be nice waves. It was then that I knew that being on the beach during typhoons is a pleasant experience rather than a horrible one, at least in the Philippines.

I was no traveler back then. I haven’t been out of the country that time, and though I love going out of town for outings (mainly for the food and beer), I consider traveling as an expense for temporary fun and nothing more.

Not until I frequented joining the Surfing trips of my friends. That changed my outlook on travel, and perhaps, on life as well.

With this, I want to share with you guys, the five most important life lessons I learned through Surfing. Please do note that I’m no pro-surfer or even a good one. I’m just a simple guy who went to surfing trips and caught some few waves here and there, but the surfing principles and way of life affected me as a person.

5 Life Lessons I Learned In Surfing

1. I learned that WE ARE ALL EQUALS.

Surfing doesn’t discriminate. When you are out there in the lineup, no matter what your race, height, weight, age, sex, political views, religion or status in life is… You are all the same person trying to catch and ride that wave. I even read once in an article, that if the world is full of surfers, there would be no wars… Just all out peace.

You don’t have to be ultra-fit or have washboard abs to try out surfing. I even saw old men surfing better than the younger ones. Same goes for the “Healthy” people out there. I guess the only difference would be the choice of surfboards since a longboard is a better fit for our chubby friends. 😛

You also don’t need to be a good swimmer to try surfing contrary to what other people say. Though it helps to be a good swimmer, it is not a requirement to enjoy surfing. You just need to know the surfing etiquette before paddling out to the line-up like knowing what direction you’re going to jump when you are about to wipe-out or giving the wave to another surfer once he/she has claimed it…