“How many times have I looked at a magazine article with some svelte girl on a surfboard riding a turquoise wave thinking geez would that not be cool. Weeks turn into years and I’d see that image here and again and go yeah I should do that when I lose some weight or get a tan or have some friends with a boat….One day. Well guess what!? At nearly 40, one day is never coming if I don’t make it happen. I put the word out to some of my more “outdoorsy-lovin” girlfriends and set up a wake surf lesson. Pioneer Tyler Marshall at DFW Surf took us out on Lake Grapevine to show us the ropes. My girlfriends and I had some butterflies about what we were getting into, but Tyler’s laid back style put us at ease quickly. First things first, learn to stand up. Secondly, find the sweet spot. Third, relish in the “fails” cause there is an award for that too! Of course we ate it quite a few times, and at one point I thought I swallowed half of Lake Grapevine through my nose. But then there’s a moment, a moment when it clicks and you know you just figured something out. All of a sudden, you see the sun as your stage lights, the wave as your dance floor, and realize the tunes from the boat just gave you the beat. Out on the water, I found a whole world you can’t see from Uptown. I read a book recently about mindset where many people don’t try new or different things because they don’t want to fail. Their ego is too sensitive and believe failing at something defines them versus realizing it’s an opportunity to challenge yourself and learn something new. My girlfriends and I took the DFW Surf challenge and we’re glad we did. We put some some cool points in the bank to boot.” -Sheyenne Sullivan
