Twilight

An Attempt at Surfing

I recently got back from vacation with my family in the Outer Banks in Nort Carolina. For anyone reading this who has never been there--despite the drive (roughly 8 hours) and the traffic, the beaches of the Outer Banks boast large, open expanses of fine, white sand. The uncrowded shore line, the breaking point of the perfect waves rolling off the ocean, makes the ideal place for all beach past times, especially surfing--which I finally got to try.
After some success at using the small, dollar store, body boards and only one very painful crash, I decided to realize my dream of surfing lessons. However, like most dreams, the reality did not quite meet expectations. I knew the my, to put it nicely, lack of grace might inhibit my ability to actually catch a wave and I was right. The first half of the lesson passed as the rest of the class and I suited up, learned about beach safety, and the basics of surfing. Then, we finally tested our theoretical knowledge in the actual waves.
The most difficult part of surfing involved hauling the 9 foot board out past the crashing waves while avoiding injury..not everyone was successful. Then came the paddling and attempting to "pop-up" to my feet and maintaining a precarious balance upon the board. My first run approached, the instructor Andy shoved me out into the wave and then shouted the commnad to stand. I made it to my knees and ended up riding the surfboard in like a boogy board. Not very sauve... The second attempt, I once again made it to my knees, and toppled immediatly into the water, while my surf board decided to beat me over the head for my incompetence. The third and fourth tries yielded the same results. The fifth and last try, I managed to make to my feet and more than halfway to shore (which made the distance more than all my other attempts combined) when I succombed to the inevitable and crashed quite spectacularly face first into two feet of frothing water and sand.
Unfortunatly, days later I still suffer from the aftermath--bruises and sore muscles that protest my insanity with every movement. However, as much as my body will hate me, I intend to try again next summer...

Friends

Going to college allows you to meet new people and grow as a person, even if you don't realize it, you change. I always thought of this as a good thing. Except, now during the summer when I am home and I see how my dear friends from high school have also changed. I am often dissappointed by the fact that my friends are not the same. I know that I am not the same either, or maybe time away from each other has just helped us to seeeach other more clearly. I try to get to know the person they have become. But what happens when you are not sure that you like what you see--when the changes aren't for the better?

And then you wonder: Do other people have that reaction to me?

A beginning

I have kept a journal intermittently throughout most of my life. I like to write, and I seem to spend most of my day in my own head thinking, or reading, or dreaming. Sometimes, I feel like it just gets too cluttered up there--so here is my solution. Someplace where I can just "put thoughts on paper." Here I go...