Blog #3: By Saige Shulda

“Or you can go through it for fun” - Stephen Wright

He said this the first day, we were standing on the rocks looking at the Lorne, I was hyping myself up, making sure that I would 100% be able to go around the massive wave in the middle because why would I want to go in there? But then he asked the question, who wants to go through it for fun? And that’s when my entire perspective started to shift. 

We have been surfed in massive holes, banged up against rocks in the meltdown, swam in a pore over, jumped into whirl pools, and we did it all on purpose. Because it is fun, and really, what’s the worst that could happen (in this safe environment)? I am no longer scared to surf the smaller, safer waves next to my house after being face surfed in right side phills. I am excited to surf all the waves that I have been avoiding because here, getting beat down is something fun, something to celebrate. And it surly gives you a better video to laugh at later. 

The coaches at this camp are truly amazing, they encourage failure in a way that I’ve never seen before, I am excited to get beat down in whatever wave they choose for the next beat down Thursday. They push us in a safe environment and make scary things fun. In these two weeks I have run more lines that are the scarier harder option, rather than the safer easier option, than I have in my entire life. And I did it, not because I had to but because it’s fun. In two weeks I have stopped looking at the river as an obstacle course with too many scary things to avoid, and started looking at it like a playground with so many fun things to do. With this new perspective, I am excited to run all my home rivers again, this time excited and ready to try anything rather than scared and waiting to flip. 

So thank you keeners, for pushing me just enough to try things I would have never tried, and learn things I would have never learned. Thank you for teaching me lessons on and off the river. And thank you for making me more excited about kayaking than I ever have been before. I cant wait to go home with my new knowledge and try things I was previously too scared to try, because scary things can be fun.