Guest Blog and Photos by Karissa Oelrich
The waves were crashing, the sun was nowhere to be seen and the “Jaws” theme song was playing over and over in my head. I had only been in Australia three days when I embarked on my first surf trip to the quaint little town of Lorne along the Great Ocean Road in southern Victoria. As I stood on the beach, my surfboard under my arm, all I could think about was getting smashed by the waves, eaten by deadly sea creatures, and the numerous international students that had probably peed in my rented wetsuit.
After a short surf safety lesson and some much-needed reassurance that sharks and jellyfish were not common in the area, I finally decided to give it a go. As suspected, I spent the first half hour swallowing water and getting tumbled around like a load of clothes in a washing machine. My eyes burned, my body ached, and my throat was swollen from all the seawater I’d just ingested. However, I refused to give up until I caught a wave.
As I sat on my board waiting for a wave to come, one of the instructors, who could have easily been a model for Billabong Surf Company, swam over and asked if I could use some help. Considering that he was an Aussie hunk and I needed to get up and catch a wave soon, I gladly accepted his assistance. I lay down on my board and as soon as a good wave came he gave me a push and told me to paddle like I’d never paddled before. That little “extra push” was exactly what I needed. Before I knew it I was standing up on my board, my arms stretched out like a true surfer. While most of my fellow surfers had already turned in their boards to go sunbathe on the beach, I continued to rip it up like Kelly Slater.
By the end of the lesson I couldn’t walk, see, hear, or breathe, but I felt pretty damn good. Not only had I learned to surf, but I’d set a goal and overcome the obstacles to achieve it. Once I knew that I wanted to get up on that surfboard no shark, spin cycle, or amount of self-doubt was going to stop me. I may have needed a little “extra push” at the beginning but in the end it was my self-confidence and determination that got me standing up and surfing.
My desire to study abroad in Australia was a similar struggle. It was something that I wanted and knew I was going to do. I spent months working to overcome the obstacles posed by my education, finances, and family concerns, but not once did I tell myself I couldn’t do it, even when others did. In the end all my hard work paid off and now here I am, learning to surf in Australia.

Learn more about Karissa and the Ethos’ Blogs from Abroad series.