Students embrace Californian surf culture
Seeking refuge from their heavy academic workloads, several Panthers look to California’s official state sport: surfing. The sport has helped these students both express themselves and relieve their stress.
Katie Rose, senior, started surfing when she was 7 years old, when her father began teaching her; however, she delved into the sport at the age of 13. As a teenager, the sport grew to have a place in her heart. “When surfing, I feel euphoric,” Rose said. “You feel like you have escaped from the outside world and there is nothing but you and the ocean and it is a really great connection with nature.”
Daniel Fisher, senior, has found a similar outlet in the sport. An avid surfer since the age of 13, Fisher finds that when “you are there in the water, life is just so much more simple. (You are) able to process and think straight. Surfing and actually riding the wave is such a rush and so much fun.”
Not only that, Fisher describes the sport as a way of self-expression. Incorporating photography and film, surfing is more than just a sport to him. “There is an artistic side to (surfing). You can make a video or edit and put music to it. It is really cool to express your surfing that way,” Fisher said.
Raagy Sompura, junior, has a passion for surfing himself and hopes that more students will get involved with the sport. “(Surfing) is something that everyone should be able to experience,” Sompura said. “Find a friend that knows how to surf and has multiple boards and ask them to take you out.”
Additionally, with high school prone to raising student stress levels, these students believe that surfing is a great way to tackle this problem. According to Rose, the sport is a great release valve. “Whenever I’m stressed out about something I can always go out to this other world where everything makes sense in a way.”
Sompura feels that surfing is a great way to release stress and tension as well. “When I’m flustered that’s when I want to go most,” said Sompura. “I surf for fun because it is a way of freeing my mind.”
Overall, these students have embraced the surf culture and have found comfort in the waves. “Whenever I’m stressed out about something I can always go out to this other world where everything makes sense,” Fisher said.
