now that i’m on a trip, i finally have time to reflect on Seira-chan. this was the first day of the month she came to Hawaii. i just met her as we paddled out to Diamond Head. i knew she came here to learn about surfing and Hawaii, but in turn, i learned a lot from her too. and this was her very last day of the month she was here. very mature, very polished, very calm, and very confident. she was like a whole new surfer girl. it was a treat to see her grow day by day. and now, what i learned from Seira-chan was very important. this girl came to Hawaii at the coldest time. it was freezing everyday for that whole month. and on top of that, the waves were the smallest it can ever get. in fact, almost flat at times. BUT, never once did she complain. while the whole island was complaining about the coldness, the windiness, and the flatness of waves, Seira-chan was out there maximizing each and every moment. to me, that was golden. to me, that was impressive. it made me respect her at a higher level. it made me never want to complain anymore. and it made me realize how important parenting is. you can’t and won’t learn those things in school, you learn it when being raised. so i really respect Seira-chan’s Mother and Father for raising such a good girl. i hope we can all learn from this because when i was surfing at Ala Moana after all those days after i coached Seira-chan, all i heard was complaints. cold, small, windy, and shitty. in my mind, i wanted to tell all those surfers to go home. i was actually wondering why they were even out there? haha… anyway, Seira-chan took the worst, and turned it into the best. that’s my point. and that’s the way to live a positive life. good girl!