Fail then Succeed

Fail then Succeed(Vanessa) The Big Island, full of adventures, is the most natural island in Hawaii. Ancient volcanoes, warm crisp beaches, enormous mouth-watering fruits, and tropical weather are what I encountered on my trip to Hawaii. But perhaps the greatest joy I had on the island during my stay began very early one morning. It was 6:00 in the morning, when I received a call from my dad in his hotel room. “Get into your swimsuit”, he said. After I hung up, I walked to the balcony and saw this gorgeous view of the palm trees swaying to the sound of the waves rushing into each other. A morning glow from the sun was slowly rising to the colored sky. After enjoying the relaxing moment, I remembered my dad telling me to hurry up. Startled, I returned inside and woke my brother, Josh, by shaking his shoulders to wake him up.

While my family was eating breakfast, Josh asked where the surfing lesson was at and my dad replied with a pleased face because my brother and I stopped bickering after a long day yesterday. He answered that we are going about a mile away from this hotel. My stomach cringed; I had never gone surfing before, and I felt queasy. I have seen too many accidents happening and I didn’t want to injure myself or be isolated in the vast ocean barrier.

After we had finished eating and putting on sunscreen, my dad drove us to a small surf shop. When we were all there, my dad parked the car outside a little house. I stepped outside, a warm wind with an ocean scented breeze blew through our hair. Examining this place, I saw a tan man, who looked middle-aged. He walked casually towards us, gave us each a traditional Hawaiian greeting, and told us to call him Uncle Kai; he led us inside the house, and gave my brother and me a lecture on the basic rules of surfing before taking us to the beach, where I stared down and saw the sand sizzling, gold and white. Soon, we’re paddling towards the instructors and I see Uncle Kai there with a junior surfer named Pono. I noticed that Uncle Kai had more wrinkles on him than Pono did because of their age difference. Pono, who was 16 at the time, was born in Oahu and had been surfing since he was eight years old. Pono was Josh’s instructor, and they both paddled to the other side of the barrier. My brother’s bland face showed that he did not want to surf, mainly because he had tripped on the volcanic rocks, and his wrists got a little bloody.

Uncle Kai led me away from the direction Josh was going, so I couldn’t watch what he was doing. Looking behind me, I see a small wave getting larger by the second, coming closer to me. Uncle Kai gave me a powerful push to my surfboard and yelled, “Paddle hard!” I saw an adolescent girl next to me. She swung her left foot to the top and was steady. With no experience, I stood up, not knowing how difficult it was. From the moment I swung my leg, I lost balance and slipped off. As I fell in the water, my legs scraped the rocks that had formed from hot magma long ago. But when I was trying to get back up on the board, something prevented me from getting my leg on the board. My vision blurred and I tugged my leg. I saw that the rope on the board was stuck between the rocks, tethering my foot and surfboard. I quickly reached down and tried pulling the rope. I could taste the salt water, aching to get into me and make me choke. Finally, my rope rose to the water and I paddled back to Uncle Kai.

When I caught up to him, he told me to rest for about a minute before he pushed my surfboard again. Looking with the corners of my eyes, I saw blood oozing from my right leg. Shocked, I paddled as fast as I could to the sand, and an instructor placed a waterproof bandaid gingerly on my leg.

Then I saw Josh surfing and my parents clapping for him. So that’s why I went back to surf my hardest. A huge wave came forward and I paddled as hard as I could, but the wave washed over me. I failed again. I felt ashamed. I tried numerous times, but I continually failed. Uncle Kai reminded me that I had only ten minutes left. I knew I couldn’t let this chance go.

My fingers uncurled from my fists. I didn’t come here to fail, I thought. Anything can happen, and I had to keep trying.

A wave came, I told Uncle Kai to push hard. Still, I fell off. With only five minutes to go, Uncle Kai told me what my problem was: I didn’t bend my knees. By bending my knees, I could navigate through the water in the direction I want to go. Two minutes left to my lesson and I see three waves lining up. They were too small to surf for. One minute left. I saw a medium sized wave coming towards me, but it was too far away. Uncle Kai said that this wave might work. But I already knew it wouldn’t. He pushed my surfboard and told me to surf, so when my right leg was steady, I swung my left leg forward, bent my knees and I surfed!

My parents took many pictures and were excited that I learned how to surf for the first time. I will never forget the time I learned to surf.