i. went. SURFING.

my first year living in florida, i was on the cover of the newspaper. before and since i have been in the paper has been for much better things but have never made it to the cover. and never for something so ridiculous (and somewhat frightening).

i was at the beach with my fellow americorps member, nghia, who like most guys lacked common sense and even though he grew up near the water in vietnam, remained what i call "ocean dumb." no offense, he was a total smarty otherwise.

there are a few things that become inherent when you live near the ocean. you know how to catch a wave with your body or any kind board, when the tide is coming up, how to dive under an incoming wave, and to NEVER turn your back to the ocean. nghia knew none of these things.

still, we went swimming.

we didn't pay attention to the lifeguards' double red flags nor had we heard about the kid who was missing at sea. immediately i knew we were in trouble. it literally felt like there was a vacuum at my feet and i realized i was getting sucked out at an alarming speed. the logic side of my brain told me that i was supposed to follow the current and spit me back out. the panic side of my brain said GET YOUR FEET ON SOLID GROUND RIGHT NOW.

panic won.

i reached the shore just in time to see two lifeguards running towards us. i stood with one as we watched the other rescue nghia. not only was i glad to be alive, i was completely mortified. we had caught the attention of the entire beach. and lucky for us, a reporter.

when we got back to work the next week everyone was asking if we were ok. i wondered how they knew.

this story, along with a photo of nghia being helped out of the water had made the front page (lucky for me it can still be found on the interweb):

"...With rough waters and a rip current, lifeguards flew the red flag — high caution — and at one point dashed in and helped two Vero Beach residents, Nghia and Jessica, both 22 (and dumb). 'They were getting sucked out good,' lifeguard Matt Resch said. Lifeguards helped Nghia and Jessica struggle back to shore. The beach goers said they might have lost their footing after another minute in the rip current.
'It was like a vacuum,' Nghia said..."

first i would like to point out a few inconsistencies here. i was NOT helped by a lifeguard, though i was grateful for their efforts. i got out on my own powered by sheer will and fear. second i said it was like a vacuum. i do like how they pointed out "high caution" to highlight our stupidity. regardless, that is not how i planned on making a name for myself here, as the girl who was ocean dumb.

(it looked kind of like this except with more fear and less smile. also nghia would be way behind me.)

like i said i've made it in the paper a lot since then, for much better, cooler things. but this goes down as most memorable. it probably explains why my mom totally panicked this weekend after she hadn't heard from me after i went kayaking.

after that i was much more wary of the ocean. nghia wasn't. he went back in the next day with my friend doug and another friend who couldn't swim. doug had to save them both. OCEAN DUMB.

anyways this weekend i rediscovered the joy of the ocean. unfortunately my leg rediscovered the joy of a surfboard fin and i will be sporting a bruise. and who am i kidding, i'm totally showing that sucker off because i. went. SURFING.

and i survived.

and much to my disappointment it did not make the front page of the paper.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT~ Jessica is Not Ocean Dumb Afterall!

ps. nghia, if you are reading this, thanks for the memories. and i hope you live inland :)

pps. you read that right, i went kayaking and surfing in one weekend. i'm not sure which was less more successful.