The Soul Surfer: Bethany Hamilton

by: Anna Owen '28

Bethany Hamilton is a surfer from Kauai, Hawaii. She grew up surfing on that island with her four older brothers By the age of eight, she was surfing competitively Bethany's mom began to homeschool her in sixth grade so that she could spend even more time surfing Her devotion to surfing led to many sponsorships

On Halloween in 2003, however, her regular routine of surfing the sea beneath the sunny skies was about to change While riding the waves with her friend Alana and Alana's dad, Bethany was attacked by a shark Her arm had been bitten off by the shark and she was immediately rushed to the hospital. It was hard for her to completely wrap her mind around the concept that her arm was gone that quickly with no warning. Despite this new reality, however, she never lost help because she felt that her talent for surfing was a gift from God. She wanted to surf again She truly believed that she could do it Noticing that it was physically challenging for her to paddle her board past the whitewater, Bethany’s dad made her a handle for her surf board to help her hold on with her one arm continued

Bethany got back to a routine of surfing pretty quickly and was competing again by January 2004, just about 10 weeks after the shark attack Because of her amputation, her life on dry land also changed At first, it was hard to do many things, but she found her own unique way to overcome the challenges. But her continuing to do these things even though it was hard, is what drew people to her. She didn't have time to feel sorry for herself; she was too b thankful that she had survived the attack. In 2004, she was chosen for the Tee Awards due to her bravery and determination to keep trying even though it was har

Soul Surfer: Bethany Hamilton continued

ove through her struggles and past her d oved Any time that things got difficult, she would tur n 2005, Bethany went to Thailand to help after the tsuna itnessed the tsunami were still afraid of the water; they were terrif near it, but Bethany helped them get past that. She understood that what hap was scary and traumatizing because she had also gone through something that had also been traumatizing, but she assured them they couldn’t let that stop them from enjoying the ocean one day again

Bethany wants to show people that whatever happens to you, happens for a reason; you just need to move with it. We shouldn't spend our lives hiding from things just because we believe that we can't do something because of our disabilities or we just believe that we cannot do it. We should do things not because they are easy, but because they are possible

Bethany Hamilton got married to Adam Dirks in 2013 and lives on the Hawaiian island of Kauai with her husband and their four children. She continues to surf with her family.

Life is just one big adventure. We can't just stay on the trail paved by someone else; we need to make our own path