today had to have been one of my top 10 days of my life. i spent over 5 hours in the water and had such a great time. i learned something about myself, and i learned something about others. i woke up at 6am feeling super fresh. haven’t had a drink in a while so when i woke up, i felt like paddling to molokai. but i had an important day with 2 amazing kids. first was Masamune-kun. our goal was to get him on a 9’0 before he leaves because he wants to surf in japan. a 10′ wouldn’t work because it wouldn’t fit in mom’s car. to tell you the truth, i thought it would be possible in just 3 days to work this kid down to a 9’0 but i had my doubts. we get out there today, i give Masamune-kun the 9’0, he catches a few waves and stands up! i was stoked! then a big set came so i told him to turn around and catch it, i was too far from him so i couldn’t help at all. he paddled, he stood up, and he rode the wave all the way in all on his own. OMG! he came back out and had the biggest smile i’ve ever seen. this kid is awesome! after that wave, i promised myself i will never doubt somebody else, or myself ever again. this kid proved me wrong big time!
we eat a poke bowl, we eat shave ice, and as i was driving Masamune-kun home, i told him “hey kid, you have an awesome smile. you should show it more. the first day i met you, you didn’t smile at all, the second day, a little, but today, you were smiling all day long! your smile makes me happy, and i’m sure it will make a lot of other people happy too. so when you go surfing, smile, when you walk around, smile, and when you meet people, smile. smiling will make you friends, and when you have lots of friends, you will be a very happy person!” he looked at me and said “ok” and had the biggest smile. gosh, after 3 days with this kid, i got really attached to him. i wish him the best in surfing in japan, wish him the best in becoming a doctor or engineer, and hope to surf with him next year! imagine this kid walking around with this big smile? the whole world will love him!
then i pick up Leo. i met Leo about 10 days ago in the water. he paddled up to me and said he checks out my blog and wanted to surf with me. well, today was the day. Leo wants to be a better surfer so i put him through my boot camp. he paddled super hard, surfed harder, and paddled non stop back to the beach. 4 hour boot camp surfing and i guarantee his level went up a lot after today. then as we were driving home, he told me “wow, you have a lot of friends yeah.” i told him, yeah, i have thousands of friends in this world, most of who i meet in the ocean. you paddle out, you greet everyone, and you smile. that’s how you make friends.” he smiled and said “that’s what i’m going to do from now on.” good boy Leo! oh, and we have something in common, Leo is going to the NICE program at the university of hawaii. 23 years ago, i worked there as a student interchanger which i had conversations with japanese students. Leo is 21 years old so he wasn’t even born yet. when i think about it, this kid could be my son. haha.
how cool is this pana shot of kewalo’s this evening?
i drive home and reflect on today. spending the whole day with Masamune-kun and Leo changed my outlook on life. i really want to become a teacher now. not just a surf teacher, but a teacher of my experiences. i think these 2 kids actually listened to me. i could just tell by the way they smiled when i dropped them off. it was just priceless! now it’s my turn to go to bed with a big smile on my face. see you all tomorrow!
