Autumn Kitchens

Photo by: Greg Fulks @fulks on Instagram

How has your surf journey changed your view of the world?

My surf journey has completely been a humbling experience. I’ve had moments where I question my ability and passion for It, along with moments where it feels like the pure drive of my existence. Surfing has taken me so many different places and allowed me to connect with different people. I’ve been able to learn how we all mimic nature. We are reflections in the way energy moves through the water and seasons change. This realization has allowed me to view the world with an overall lens of compassion. We’re all going through seasons, changes, and we all have energy moving throughout our bodies in different ways. Overall I realize I don’t know much except my love for the ocean which keeps me in a very exploratory mode. The world feels really big with so many people and waves I want to get to know, and I think before surf it felt smaller, off limits, and further away.

What have you learned from surfing or the ocean about community?

Photo by: Greg Fulks @fulks on Instagram

I’ve often struggled with community or finding my tribe but I’ve also learned that you’ll eventually find them. Surf in general brings people together which is the cherry on top. My surf community has made me feel supported in ways that I never imagined before and because of that I’ve learned the importance in nurturing community. Just because the community is present and amazing doesn’t mean that it will always be available – sharing your love and support, making yourself available inside and out of the water is the rain your community needs. Of course, like everything else community flows in seasons. During the summer we are often super connected and always together but during the winter, everyone tends to follow the heat scattered around the world or go into hibernation. That distance isn’t an indication of lack of love but simply a season that will eventually end and come back.

What does honoring others in the ocean mean to you?

Honoring others in the ocean is so important. This past year, I’ve been extremely intentional about honoring myself which has helped me honor others. Being self aware is an act of honor simply because the way I enter the water impacts the people in the water. Recognizing the beginners in the water or people that might be having a hard day and giving them the wave because that has been me and still is me. Encouraging and cheering for people who are killing it. Sessions where someone has yelled/cheered me on to charge for a wave that they could have gone on AND I catch, feels like the sun coming out after days of rain – pure joy. Picking up trash and cleaning the beach/ocean has been instilled in me since I was little. The ocean belongs to no one but we all enjoy it and to take care of it, is to take care of each other.