Never Give Up: Bethany Hamilton

416 words

Has there ever been a time when something happens and you just can’t see the good in it? Or maybe you have been working at something for so long but you just haven’t been getting the results you want and you just want to give up. This week I am going to share three different stories about people who didn’t give up even in the toughest of times.

The morning of October 31, 2003, a young girl by the name of Bethany Hamilton was lying on her surf board in Kauai, Hawaii with her best friend Alana Blanchard and Alana’s family. Bethany had dreams and aspirations of becoming a pro surfer and was already sponsored by RipCurl. As she floated atop the water, left arm hanging in the water, a shark came up and bit off her left arm right under her shoulder. She didn’t even scream. In her book, Soul Surfer, she says that she barely felt any pain, just a slight tugging feeling. Alana’s dad and brother helped get her to land and met the ambulance on their way to the hospital. Bethany is a living miracle. Not many people can survive a shark attack especially after losing over 60% of her blood but doctors believe that her calm composure saved her life.

About a month later, Bethany got back into the water. She took a couple of spills before she could successfully stand up on her board. She never gave up on her dream. She competed in the National Scholastic Surfing Association in 2004 and got fifth place

Bethany trained endlessly to get back to where she was before the accident. When you only have one arm it’s hard to simply make a sandwich or get dressed let along surf. But she was determined to not let this get in her way.

She also was very strong in her faith. Bethany knew that God had a plan for her. Even though at the time it was hard for her to see how this I jury could help her in the future. But when she went to Thailand to help with tsunami relief and realized there that there was much more to life than surfing.
Bethany is such an inspiration to me and many other people because she overcame a huge obstacle and was still able to make her dream become a reality. Whenever you are in a tight spot or are doubting yourself, think of Bethany Hamilton and how far she came and know that you can do anything.

~Skooogster(: