Surfing is only my Hobby

As I was reading through my surfing magazines I was particularly interested in the articles regarding the young surfers of today. Each magazine I would read there would be several articles on these surfers that ranged from 14 – 20 years of age. These surfers all had a few things in common, that further made me think about the generation I come from. All these young surfers are on their way to becoming pro, they have sponsors and all they do is surf.  They do not only surf to become pro, but they surf because they love to surf and all they want to do is surf. The main similarity was that they were all homeschooled, all their time and effort was put into surfing and nothing else. Most kids from my generation have their eye on one goal for the future; if they enjoy something they wont just make it a hobby but will turn it into their life. An education was not important to these kids, because they could only see themselves surfing and nothing else.

This also relates to me in a way, not the surfing part, but the direction in which I want to live my life. I have experienced the want to become a pro surfer; I wasn’t homeschooled I was just in a Christian School on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.  I practiced all the time, but never made it to the stage I wanted to be at.  Then my dad was offered work in Byron Bay, the most eastern point of Australia, and the surf there is amazing, I thought this is were I could take my next step in become a better surfing. However, that is not where we ended up, we moved to India. I started to do homeschooling, and the one direction I had in my life was gone, surfing. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my future now, until we started travelling, and one thing that always stood out to me as we travelled was architecture. I found direction in my life, not surfing, but something that I also enjoyed. I am now at Woodstock school, and my whole high school life is moving to become an architect. I had changed my hobby into my future again. Surfing will always be apart of my life, however it will continue to just be a hobby. That is one thing I am also happy about, as architecture is what I am crazy about and I cannot imagine my self-being anyone else.

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Is Garrett McNamara’s wave really a world record?

Was Garrett’s Nazaré monster wave really 90ft?

April 18th, 2012

Big wave surfing is one thing that can only be done, and only wants to be done by thrill seekers, but not just any thrill seekers.  Garrett McNamara is said to be “One of the most extreme high sensation seekers on the planet.” He proves this when he sits out in freezing water to wait for a “Kids Glacier” to cave in hope for him and his friend to surf a tsunami size wave. He is also known for taking on some of the biggest barrels and escaping from wipeouts that most people would die from. But this article is not just about Garret McNamara and his life in thrill seeking, but is about him possibly surfing the biggest wave recorded in history. On the Portuguese coast called Nazaré is where McNamara tackled a wave that most people could not even believe could be so big. The possible 90-foot wave was built off a three-mile deep slice in the sea floor off the coast that can produce waves that can be compared to Jaws and Mavericks. Once he was on this 90-foot monster, he ran down the line for 20 seconds while avoiding the falls and a massive wipeout. The wave didn’t get much attention until Kelly Slater (11 time World Champion) made a tweet about it telling him to post it ASAP. Then there was a lot going around in the media about this wave, as there was no official measurement of the wave, it was forwarded to XXL judges to be considered the “Biggest Wave” and “Ride of the Year.” The current world record for largest wave is still held by Mike Parsons who surfed a 77-foot wave, however, Kelly Slater and Greg Noll (both highly respected surfers) still believe it to be a big wave, and one of the biggest waves documented. This might be the biggest wave ever surfed but everyone has to leave it up to the XXL panel to decide. 

Greg Noll’s said “You ride big waves for the love, and the joy, and the adrenaline rush, and that’s what Garrett, hell, what all these guys have in common. How they express themselves may come out a little differently, but they’re all part of the same family.” Personally big wave surfing looks awesome, it is one of the craziest things human do till this day, however it is something that most people should leave up to the extreme thrill seekers. I have seen the wave surfed by both Garret McNamara and Mike Parsons has surfed, and I still believe Mike Parsons wave is bigger. It could be the cameral angle and all that stuff, but the time it takes for Mike Parsons to surf his wave takes a lot longer. But who am I to judge though? I would never in my dreams attempt anything close to this size, I surf the small waves I do for the love and the joy of it.

Word Count: 490

http://www.surfing-news.com/is-garrett-mcnamaras-wave-really-a-world-record/

My Experience with Surfing

For the next couple of weeks the topic I will be writing about will be surfing.

It was a childhood dream to learn to surf. I lived on the beach and my parents would take me down to play in the sand with my shovel and spade however, it was surfers that had my attention. I would say to myself one day I would be out there do that exact same thing. From that point in time, surfing has been a major part of my life from the moment I saw a person stand up on a board and ride the wave. There is a certain aspect in surfing that draws people to want the same experience as the surfers.

I remember my first surfboard I got when I was five, and it was everything I wanted. I would be so excited when I could just stand up on a wave. That experience was life changing and I knew that I wanted it to be a major part of my life. I would look at websites for good swells, check out future surfboards that would suit me, and would read every surf magazine I could get my hands on. Surfing was something that changed my personality too; I would be calmer because of the time I would spend by myself out in the waves. Then I got my first real surfboard, a 6-foot 6-inch fiberglass, short board the board I had always wanted. That’s when surfing got that much more serious, because the beach was down the road any day with good waves I would be surfing. The weather was never an issue me, as there are wetsuits for the different conditions. So any day with waves for me was perfect.

Surfing also holds one fear of mine; I have always had the fear of drowning, seeing other surfers get dumped and being held under for long periods of time. But seeing these same surfers come out of the situation safe helped me build confidence. I still remember the first time I got dumped really bad, it was as if I was in a washing machine tumbling left, tumbling right, not knowing which way was up, hitting the sand until I finally pierced the surface and gasped for air. This stuns anyone for a while, until you catch another wave that give you that joy and experience of surfing. The thrill I get from surfing out does any fear that I may have.

Without surfing my life would not be the same, I would not be the same person, which is why I still find time for it when I can. I am always training and keeping fit for when I have the chance to get back in the water and reading up on the latest news in the surf world. So until the day that I get back in the water and experience the thrill of surfing, I can only close my eyes and imagine sitting in the sand again and watch the surfers inspire me.

Word Count: 509

The Changes in Cars

For me I have traveled to different parts of the world, lived in a few different parts of the world, and have had the experience of living in wealthy places and not so wealthy places. My family has owned a variety of different cars, from expensive cars to cars that are just a body and an engine. I have grown up with different cars and have grown to have a pretty strong interest in them. In my free time I am always looking up and researching two of my favorite things, cars and surfing. Cars are something that I enjoy looking at not only to see what is out in modern day, but also to see how the car industry has changed over the last couple of decades. 

Growing up with cars my whole life I have seen just in my lifetime how cars have changed over the last decade and a bit. The efficiency in which they use fuel and how they starting to move away from oil based fuel in new modern day cars. Cars are now moving to a more efficient and environmentally friendly way of powering the cars, such as hydrogen and electricity. There has also been a major change in the interior design of a car, were they have no only changed the layout but the materials used. They started with plastics and cloth fabrics, which has now moved on to fiberglass and leather. The final thing I have seen a major change in is the body shape of a car. Even though cars bodies have mostly been about the dynamics to help the performance of a car, the car industry is now using technology to make sure they get the ultimate result in the shape of the body. Cars have changed to take on the new technology that gives drivers the perfect driving experience. 

So just during my life of 16 years I have seen massive developments in the car industry that have changed cars forever. Cars are a part of most human’s life, so companies are changing at rapid paces to keep people wanting newest cars, but how much can one change on one simple idea of transport. There is no way to see how much the car industry will change before a completely new way of transport is developed to wipe out cars. 

Word Count: 395

59. Discuss how a specific place can be used to help illustrate your personality.

There is one kind of place that can illustrate my personality and it can be found all over the world. This place can build up and cause mayhem but at a completely different time be calm like there is not a care in the world.  It is the kind of place I have spent a lot of my life. This place is a beach, but not any beach a costal beach where the conditions can change from any given time. The sun can be out or the clouds could role out and change the whole mood of the place. I am a person that does not change moods from second to second but builds up over time to change the way I act for time to time. The beach is a place I relate this to very much because the ocean and weather conditions do not change at any given second but build up to alter the kind of day. 

I am usually in the kind of mood that is relaxed and not easily disturbed. Where everything seems to role out and I flow with everything that is happening around me. I like to sit and do my own thing and at this time I just reflect on life. My imagination may start to go crazy where there are no boundaries to how much I can imagine and create. I relate this to the kind of day or days where the beach is calm, no dramatic waves, just a flat ocean that you can see out into the horizon. The sun is out and shines down and reflexes off the sand and water. The sun is not burning hot; it warms your skin from the inside out. These are the days the beach is calm and you can see where the water and sky meets. This side of my personality can be illustrated by this time at a beach very well.

Everyone also has a energetic side, full of playfulness and happiness where all you want to do is have fun. Me, I am the person who loves this side of me, where I do not see the boundaries where the fun can stop. This side of me can last days on end where all I do is enjoy life, but not by myself but with the people that want to enjoy it with me. This is like a beach in the sense that the day is full of sun that burns you up and keeps you hot and active. There are waves rolling in, perfect waves which happens to be the best time to be in the water. Everything is moving; full of energy like this time will never end. These are the days at a beach where everything is energetic and moving like everything was planned to go that way. 

 Now my angry side is different to a lot of people in that fact that most people can get angry straight away. My anger does not turn on from a flick of a switch, it takes time. When I am angry, frustrated, stressed, depressed, and sad they all kind of come out together. Each one slowly builds up, combines together until it is too much to handle. I get to a state that everyone know that I am in this kind of mixed mood, so everyone stays a way. You can see this mood come from a mile away, so I feel like I have time to prepare for it. This relates those stormy and destructive days at the beach. Where the waves are washed out, rough, and choppy no one dares to enter. It is over cast, thunder, and lighting everyone knows there is a storm going on. These days are miserable down at any beach and everyone stays away. However, this storm does not come out of anywhere you can see it build up and come towards the coast. This kind of weather down at the beach really illustrates this kind of personality I have in tough times. 

Beaches are a very central part of my life and I can relate to them in so many different ways. Although my personality is not always the same I feel like a beach is still the best place to relate it too. Beaches are unpredictable in the sense that you do not know what is coming to far ahead. So if I had to choose a place to illustrate my personality, I would choose a beach. 

Word Count: 748

Payoff for Efficient Cars Takes Years

Payoff for Efficient Cars Takes Years

By NICK BUNKLEY

April 4, 2012

New York TImes 

People around the world are looking at different car alternatives as the prices of gas go up. The main cars people are starting to look at hybrid and electric cars, but what the people do not realize when they by these cars is how long it takes before they start saving money. All the different car brands are bringing out their version eco-friendly and efficient car, which uses technology that puts the car prices, quiet high. But data from TrueCar.com says that this new technology does not necessarily save you money. This is expect for two hybrid cars the Toyota Prius and the Lincoln MKZ, the other hybrid cars have the added cost in the fuel-efficient technology which gives it those added years to start saving money, over a comparable conventional fuel-combustion engine. This is compared to today’s fuel prices that are at $4 per gallon in the U.S and even if prices were to climb to $5 per gallon it would still take a decent amount of time. For people to start to save money on the newly bought eco-efficient car fuel prices would have to rise to $8 a gallon over 6 years (average time a person owns a car) before the car would be paid off and start saving money. The hybrid car market has grown 60 percent this year but sill only holds 3 percent of the total car market. For these hybrid cars to become mainstream the companies are going to have to wait for oil prices rise and the demand for them to rise, or they find a way for the cost of the car to be cheaper. The current pay off time ranges from two years to six and half years. A lot of people who buy these cars often do not do the math before they by these cars; they think higher mileage the better they will come out in the end. Were some people are just buying these hybrid cars to do something better for the environment, not worrying about the costs. So in the end hybrid cars are not going to save you as much money as you think, but will help the environment. 

This article really lets you have a good look at the real outcomes in buying a hybrid car and the time in which you are really going to start saving money. With the current prices of oil the only benefit I see in buying a hybrid car is to be eco-friendly, and play your part. If you are really looking to save money in buying a hybrid instead of a conventional fuel-combustion car than you should look to buy a Toyota Prius or the Lincoln MKZ. Personally I wouldn’t buy a hybrid car yet, but within the next few years it will be worth it when fuel prices grow to a much higher price.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/business/energy-environment/for-hybrid-and-electric-cars-to-pay-off-owners-must-wait.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1

Word Count: 481

56. Discuss how your travel experiences have affected you as a student and a citizen of the world.

As a student I have traveled to many countries around the world and I have seen different aspects of life within these countries. I have been to heavily developed countries where everything runs smoothly and looked after.  I have also been to developing countries that are still growing to become one of the worlds developed countries. Within each country I have travelled to see the different parts of the country, to see the struggling parts and the strong parts. Growing up in a developing country but coming from a developed country, changed the way I lived as I have seen how others live. All this has molded and affected me as a student and as a citizen of the world. 

I have lived most of my life as a high school student in India, giving me the opportunity to travel around the world. During my years in primary school I grew up in Australia being spoiled by everyone. Growing up in India, living in the places I did, seeing the way some people live, and not always having everything, changed the way I lived.  Growing up with this changed me as a student because of this, I now have a broader view on the world. 

Traveling to many other countries has shown me how the different cultures of the world live. Within these travels I learnt about the different religions of the world and how their belief systems works different to mine.  This has let me understand the world and how to view people equally, to accept people for who they are. This has affected me positively into a citizen of the world as I know how to belong and to fit in to any place I go.

Traveling from such a young age and all the way through my schooling life, has given me values that can be seen in everything I do. Giving me the tools to finish up as a student and become a person that contributes to the world. As I have been given the opportunity to travel as a student I have seen and experienced things that has changed me. That has shaped me into a person that I love to be, and I can not see my self in any other way. 

Word Count: 397