How to Surf

Running head: Surfing

How I learned to surf

for Introduction to Psychology course

Jeovanna Kopetz

PSY2012

March 14, 2006

We were friends who rode the waves. The time we spent in our younger days, was all in fun.

Oh the good times that we had rest in peace Donnie. This short poem I wrote for my best friend

Donnie brings me back to the days when I learned how to surf.

A few years ago I was at the beach with my buddy Donnie he was the one who was mainly

found in the water with his surf board and as for myself I was frying my brains out trying to

catch some rays instead of waves. Donnie always asked me if I had wanted to learn every time

we went to the beach one day I had a change of heart and wanted to learn how to surf. I shocked

Donnie he was excited as well as myself. I told myself it is the time to learn because I watched

Donnie all these years and it was not just him but my own dream”a sequence of images,

emotions and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind” (Myers, 2004 pg. 281). I

finally was going for my dream. So Donnie got started by explaining that it would take me a few

days to learn and that I needed a board used is generally best bet when starting out. Chances are

good that I was going to ding it up just carrying it around. Also he was explaining that when the

water gets cool at times I should invest in a wet suit which keeps you warm when in the water.

So with this new knowledge that I had taken in I was thrilled to learn more in the next few days.

That evening I was so restless because I was so excited to get in the water. The next day I

realized why my sleep was so important “Allowed to sleep unhindered, most humans will sleep

at least 9 hours a night” (Stanley Coren, 1996 pg 275).With that much sleep , he/she does not

become groggy. He/she awake refreshed, sustain better moods, and perform more efficient and

work better than those who get less sleep (Myers, 2004 pg. 275). Well my restlessness got me

not as anxious as I was the previous day also my responding to Donnie was late because I was so

tired. So Donnie dismissed our teaching for the day because I was not on task and when going

in the water he told me I need to be “conscious our awareness of ourselves and our environment”

(pg266). The next day I was ready to learn Donnie had to call a few of our local surf shops to see

what the water was like, so that was something new for myself he/she has to call ahead to see if

the water is well enough to surf high or low tides, but in our exception Donnie found out we had

a good day to surf. Finally, “I get to ride some waves” before I got right in the water Donnie

explained I had to wax my “stick”(surf board )(wax is for when he/she is on their board they do

not slide off the board.) and head down to the water, also Donnie reminded me to put a leash on

so I did not lose my board if I wipe out, so always put the leash on the back leg. So then we had

to walk our boards out