Overcoming the Waves: A Tale of Bethany Hamilton's Unstoppable Spirit in Surfing - Free Essay

Part 1

Bethany Hamilton and the Story of Challenging Deficit

Bethany Hamilton and the story of the challenging deficit is a very interesting story that is applicable in a real-life situation. The incident occurred on the 31st of October 2003 when Bethany Hamilton had gone surfing in the sea in the accompany of Alana, who was her close friend. They arrived at the shore of the sea and started to surf, and after a short period of time, Alana discovered that Bethany Hamilton had surfed 300meters away from her, and she had twisted on a board, but she first ignored her by not taking immediate action towards the situation. Alana later realized that the twisting of Bethany’s on her board appeared unique because the situation kept repeating itself. Bethany Hamilton, therefore, responded to a twist that happened to her by leaning towards her board and thereafter decided to deep his arm deep into the sea as a way of trying to rescue her life Something unexpected happened immediately after she had deep his arm into the sea (Cooper, Jessica Ann, pg, 18). A shark whose appearance was compared to that of a tiger caused harm to her arm. Regardless of a sudden attack on Bethany’s Board, she never lost hope of surfing. Also, she did not want to lose the financial aid that she was receiving from the people who sponsored her.

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Due to the sudden attack by a shark, Bethany felt unwell, and therefore she was admitted to the hospital by the father of his friend Alana because his condition was becoming worse. When Alana, together with her father and Bethany, arrived at the hospital, something unplanned also happened. It was a coincidence that Bethany Hamilton met with his father at the hospital, something that she was not expecting. Bethany’s father's role at the hospital was to work on a routine checkup, and therefore, he conducted a checkup on his daughter’s arm and gave her treatment by means of surgery.

The surgery on the cut region was not successful due to the existence of two surgeries on her arm that caused a lot of confusion to the individuals who volunteered to offer treatment to her. Despite her critical health condition that resulted from an attack by a shark, Bethany Hamilton was so determined and focused in her field of interest that she hoped one day she would go and surf again after the pain in his arm had recovered. After she felt better, she loved visiting the patients who were at the hospital, but she surfed later after the stitches that had been wrapped on the cut part of her arm were removed. Bethany revealed that she had a strong belief in religion, and loved his friends, and most importantly, his family. Also, Bethany later sought to be praised after she had passed through all the challenges and promised that the incident would never occur again. Moreover, Bethany said that she had a lot of desires towards surfing, but next time she would be keener on the waves and the direction of the wind in the sea while surfing (Putnam, Zachary, pg 16).

Challenges that Bethany Hamilton experienced as a Surfer

The story of Bethany Hamilton and the challenges of deficit cannot be easily forgotten by the people because it is associated with the sports industry and the challenges that are commonly affecting the sports surfers (Cobelo Pérez, Carlos, pg 20). Bethany Hamilton suffered both physically and psychologically. Psychologically, Bethany Hamilton suffered from emotional stress in that she was afraid about her health condition after she had been attacked by a shark. Physically, she suffered from pain that was on her arm (Ismoyo, Wahyu, pg, 22).

Part 2

Surfing and the History of it as a Sport

The understanding of the history of Surfing as one of the examples of the sports industry is traced back to the cultures of the communities such as Polynesians who used to practice it before. Polynesians believed that the first person to demonstrate the art of surfing was the chief who led their tribe. The man who was at the top position in the community was also the best surfer. The history of surfing is also drawn from the Europeans because they were the first people to observe it in their region. Moreover, the history of surfing is cultivated from communities such as Hawaiian who had enriched their traditional norms and customs and who considered their traditions as a normal way of life rather than viewing surfing as a hobby.

The construction of a surfing board was based on traditional beliefs such as spirituality. Also, surfing was associated with competitions that were set among different surfers, and it was done under the shore of the sea, which was characterized by the existence of strong waves. The competitors were assigned the duty of finding hidden things such as mysteries that were believed to have been placed deep in water. The key area that was emphasized by the Hawaiian community was the individual ability to surf faster. It is also believed that the groups of surfers who had the ability to surf faster as compared to others could gain a lot of respect and fame. As a result, Hawaiians form a community where sports revolve around to avoid the erosion of the culture of surfing.

Surfing arrived at the shore of the United States later after its evolution and spread across the world. Surfing at Eastern Coast regions was introduced by James Matthias Jordan after he had learned the culture of surfing from the Polynesians. The emergency of surfing in the Eastern Coastal regions had an impact because it led to the mounting of the board at a place known as Redwood in the year 1912 near the shore of Virginia, and that established board later served as the best center of surfing across the world (Evers, Clifton, and Adam Doering, pg, 345). The United States adopted and incorporated surfing into the Western Coast regions by establishing a surfing board that was well-designed, and this led to the widespread of surfing cultures in the region. California, Australia, and Hawaii were among the best ranked in terms of surfing centers since they gave the opportunities the people to enjoy their own lifestyles and to select sports of their choice. Surfing has therefore been preserved by the people up to date, and this is evident because surfing centers such as prime beaches, events, and surf shops still exist and therefore, it has become part of life. Surfing has been classified under the category of sport known as recreation.

Part 3

Analysis of the Books

1-The Story of Surfing, a book by Matt Warsaw

Matt Warsaw's major field of interest was the sports industry and the challenges that are associated with it. Matt Warsaw had ideas about surfing, and he presented these ideas through the culture of surfing in a manner that made people become more interested (Warshaw, Matt, pg, 21). Matt Warsaw further explained the obsession that some individual has to the extent of not losing hope even after facing several challenges. Passion has also been focused on such that those who are participating in surfing usually have a great passion for their talents.

2- Soul Surfer, book by Bethany Hamilton, Rick Bundschuh.

Rich Bundschuh and Bethany Hamilton explained the story of a soul surfer through their writings and understanding. The book featured Bethany Hamilton and termed her as being a talented and skilled person when it comes to surfing. Bethany Hamilton also escaped death when a shark suddenly attacked her. The story is also dominated by Christian beliefs in that Hamilton was physically attacked and not spiritually affected. The story of Bethany Hamilton, to some extent, is funny in that Bethany Hamilton already had some salty water that was found in the veins of her body. Therefore this scenario has raised a lot of concerns among the people, such that people are in a dilemma on how Bethany Hamilton managed to surf regardless of the existence of salty water that was discovered in her veins. The most area that has also exposed people to suspense is how Bethany escaped the attack by a shark.

Rich Bundschuh also noted how Bethany responded to the attack by a shark through the use of religion. Bethany acted upon the attack that was caused by a shark with a strong belief that God was her protector. The belief in religion also helped Hamilton to reduce the panic and the pain in Bethany’s arm. At the hospital, Bethany was not worried about her health condition, and she knew that a time would come when she would go back home and continue as a surfer. Therefore, in this case, the story of a soul surfer accounts for the determination, courage, and faith that Bethany had in her field of surfing. The other account of this story is linked to how Bethany receives her treatments and the way her surfing lifestyle becomes consistent in winning surfing championships even after being attacked by a shark. This book has shown that faith is more powerful than anything else in case an individual comes across some challenges that require a lot of critical thinking.

3- Be Unstoppable: The Art of Never Giving Up, book by Bethany Hamilton

Be unstoppable; the art of never giving up has been narrated by Bethany Hamilton through her passion for surfing. Despite the challenges that Bethany Hamilton was going through at that time, for instance, being attacked by a shark and sea waves, she was focused, courageous, and determined in that she did not lose hope in participating in surfing (Hamilton, Bethany, and Aaron Lieber, pg 24). Also, her veins contain salty water, but she never raised any excuse that she would not participate in surfing; instead, this motivated her to challenge his colleagues that she was capable of surfing better than them regardless of her condition. The art of being unstoppable; and never giving up has also been displayed in the image that appears on the cover of the book, and it acts as a motivating factor among the learners in that it teaches them the need for perseverance, being consistent with their goals, trusting in God and most importantly Bethany story encourages learners to engage in taking positive risks in their lives for them to win big.

There are also some positive motivational quotes that can be drawn from this book, and that would positively impact the lives of the learners by transforming their lives, especially for those who have lost hope. This is because learners would realize that challenges are part of life, and therefore they should be ready to accept it the way it is for them to progress in their lives. Also, this book entails the appreciation of Bethany Hamilton as a surfer and, most importantly, being recognized because of overcoming various obstacles; for instance, she overcomes the obstacles of the sea waves and attacks by a shark. The book also emphasizes the need for religion in hardship times as a way of overcoming those problems, which in turn leads to being unstoppable while aiming to achieve the set targets (Hamilton, Bethany, SherylBerk, and Rick Bundschuh, pg 27). People would also become inspired after reading and watching the story of Bethany and know how to deal with various challenges of life.

The story of Bethany Hamilton is a lesson to the majority of people concerning the way in which passion can drive someone to attain success. Moreover, being unstoppable as drawn from the story of Bethany enables the learners to adopt the positive moral virtues from the way of life of Bethany Hamilton and later incorporate them into their lives as a way of achieving their dreams.