A quarantine hobby takes a surprising turn. – By Aemilia Madden
“This is it,” I thought to myself. Icy seawater shoved its way into my nose as my body spun energetically under the water. I turned in circles trying to figure out where to stick my head just to be able to pull in a quick breath and reorient. The waves were tiny, a joke compared to Nazaré or even Mavericks just down the road from me. But, as a beginning surfer, each time I plopped or thunked ungracefully off the board and into the water, it felt like I was battling some sea titan. Growing up in Northern California, learning to surf probably should have been on my to-do list. I had boyfriends who surfed, and I often sat and soaked up rays at beaches where other people dove into the water headfirst. But, as someone who can’t stand the cold, the idea of voluntarily dipping my head into the Pacific felt like it went against my very nature.
So, why would I twist my own system of values upside down? It started with … More