“Not everyone is always looking at you” is something my
mother said to me very often.” There is really no need to be so self-conscious”.
So, when I walked
onto the beach in San Diego a few years with a borrowed surfboard under my arm I
repeated this mantra to myself. Around me the beautiful people were sunbathing,
tending to their beautiful children and generally blinding me with their
fabulousness. But no, I was not going to be distracted. This was probably the
only chance I would get to surf in the Pacific for the foreseeable future, maybe
even ever; I was going to take advantage of it.
As I paddling through the shallow water, I heard the sound
of men laughing. For goodness sake, I thought, not everyone is looking at
you! Just get on with it. (I should add here that I am not really (remotely) a
surfer, I just want to be. I can paddle out a bit on the board and sometimes
catch a wave on the way back and about three times ever, I have stood up for a
second or two. That’s over about four years of trying.)
Then I found myself looking at a man beside me “Hey!” he said
“Me and my buddy were just laughing at you! We always get a kick out of
watching people try to surf!”
