"What are fears but voices airy?" -Wordsworth

I'm proud of myself...I went out to surf in Santa Cruz this past weekend. It was my third attempt to surf and my first attempt in the cold, Northern California waters. I was worried about sharks and I told myself I would go out to the beach, but I didn't have to get on a board if I had a bad feeling. Once I saw the water, I didn't even think about not donning my wetsuit.

The water was freezing cold, the bottom of the ocean was pretty jagged and rocky, and my leash kept getting wrapped up in kelp. I didn't catch any waves, but I went out further than I ever have, despite the rocky bottom and kelp and fear of sharks, and I got really banged up by a huge wave and having my "teacher" surf straight into my arm and hip.

I'm proud of my new bruises, since I usually never get bruised from anything but walking into coffee tables. Now I have a nasty purple and brown bruise crawling up the length of my right arm and a lovely bright red and purple 3 x 4 inch smacker on my right hip. Pretty good for a weinie-girl who never willingly participated in sports!