Quitting Surfing?

i had to temporarily hang up my motocross boots for about 3 years now after about 10 years of racing. Got too expensive and didnt have time to practice while being away at school. kills me every day but i tell myself as soon as i graduate in May im gettin another bike and racing again. i could not imagine leaving surfing though. its too much a part of who i am and a main source of my happiness. I know happiness is a lot of things to a lot of people but i just couldnt imagine it. i pray to the good lord that i can surf until im old and crusty!

 

ahhh... Education degrees,money and surfing... Steady job...yes...decent pay...some places if you stay in the same state, school, or school system and build up time (depending on where you will work they have different rules). I have made close to 40K and I have made 25K as a teacher with 8 years in when my tenure didn't count where I moved so I went back to starting pay! Living good? Not really but then again you only work 180 days a year...so your not living bad either! Of course summers off, winter break, and spring break for surf travel! Young unmarried dudes... awesome! Supporting a family...your wife better have a decent to good job as well to live and surf comfortably! That said other things I have run into over the years
... I have been a single teacher and had to work two jobs to get enough cash to live/surf how I wanted
... Like any job its who you know and dues to pay...coaching or teaching summer school to get your foot in the door
... some subjects are in high demand... some are not... ugh...It's rough being a social studies teacher
... Job can be tough and most teachers quit in the first 4 years... I made it nearly ten before I hung it up
... The places you want to teach are likely the places that don't need teachers... sad fact is good schools and ones near the ocean often have plenty of teachers and more waiting in the wings... better know someone, pay some serious dues, teach a high demand subject, or get REALLY lucky there... I had to move inland and surf little for 3 years to build a resume before I could compete for jobs in the good school or surf zone

 

Ditto.....

 

Really? I know a lot of people that have been surfing 40 + years without missing a swell. If they walked away today they were never into it? Until you have done something for that long and seen the changes in the crowds, attitudes, and vibe that can happen in 40 years you can't understand, someday maybe you will but not yet. Things change and sometimes the whole experience is not what it once was. People walk away with great memories, good attitudes, and excited for something new, just look at Jerry Lopez.

 

thats a whole other level. i would hope they would have fun in glassy chest high days also. I have met a few people like that who only want triple overhead bombs but I am glad I am not talented enough for that and also that I love a glassy chest high day also.

 

Excerpt from the February issue of Surfer Mag...

"Surfing is not always easy or automatic. The path to the lineup is littered with obstacles and deterrents. If it's not your own physical health, then it's something else: bad wind, jellyfish, sharks, the tide, the crowds, the cold. The reality is, the more you let these obstacles get in the way, the more powerful they become. Over time, if you let them win, these petty things grow into fortresses designed to keep you dry.

If that happens, deadlines somehow seem more pressing, your family demands more of your attention, riding waves soon takes a back seat. You find other hobbies, you walk the dog, you play golf. Before you know it the ding in your board is not worth fixing, the 10 minute bike ride to your local break is the alpine stage of the Tour de France, and even if you survive it, the 50 surfers in the water are just a bunch of reprobate a**holes who will hustle you and gnash and claw at what's left of your faith in humanity. If you're not careful, it's not to long before you believe that surfing is a chore-something you have to do rather than something you want to do. So you take a break, you stop surfing for a little while. But then your muscles begin to atrophy. You wither away. That's when your wife starts freaking out because your once tanned skin is now transparent, your once broad shoulders are nothing but a wire coat hanger for your golf shirt to hang loosley from. Soon your surf buddies forget about you. They stop calling, they stop inviting you surfing or to barbecues. You become a hermit. A lonely, translucent, depressed hermit with weak shoulders and an angry wife. It's not a good situation."

 

There are so many things to do in this life. Surfing is just one little thing to do out of thousands. If you quit so what. Pick it up again later.

 

http://surfclip.net/features/iquit.shtml

 

I personally think you should quit and turn your SUP into a coffee table.

 

You have a problem with SUPs, I take it?