Now I'm A Believer

It can be a difficult feat to become a believer sometimes.

There will be times in you life in which changing your mind will be easy. You might be a die-hard Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream fan but then someday, someone convinces you to take a lick of their Cherry Vanilla and BAM, you love them both! Changing your mind was quick and painless and all of a sudden you get two ice cream options instead of just one!

There will be times in your life in which changing your mind will be impossible. You might be terrified of snakes and no matter how much rationalization, hypnosis or shock therapy you go through, nothing will ever make you touch a snake. You will live the rest of your life terrified of snakes and that is the end of that.

I grew up in the interior of BC where we swam in lakes. Swimming, boating and fishing was done in freshwater and I have never been able to get over my unadulterated love for freshwater and switch to the saltwater experience. I've swam in the ocean a few times but never was able to enjoy it all that much. The salt made my eyes fuzzy very quickly (possibly due to the Lasik eye surgery???) and licking the water from my lips only to taste salt just kind of grossed me out. Plus the beach always seemed so windy every time I was there so I would be picking sand out of my belongings for days afterward. Sure it was kind of cool to be instantly more buoyant when you're in the water, but the cons seemed to outweigh the pros. I'm a freshwater swimmer. End of story.

But then Wednesday happened.

After getting stuck in a major writer's block at work, I decided to skip out early (the boss said it was OK as long as I made up the hours on Friday, which I did) and go to the beach with Chris and his parents. We arrived a little past 3pm and the thought of being at the beach with the insane humidity in the air was like heaven. I was looking forward to the cool air from the ocean and being able to enjoy just laying in the sunshine. When we walked over the dunes to see the giant waves crashing into the shore, I instantly got excited. The waves were huge! There was even a guy out there surfing! We don't get waves like that at the lake. Needless to say, we had a blast playing in those waves. The water was amazingly refreshing and even though my eyes got fuzzy and the water tasted gross, the waves outweighed any cons that day. Everyone who was in the water that afternoon was having so much fun and even all of the adults were goofing around like little kids.

Now I'm a believer. Jess and I went again today and even though the waves weren't as huge as the previous visit, I was able to appreciate my surroundings so much more. It just took me a few trips to the beaches on PEI to be affected by them positively. I still love my freshwater and will still pick freshwater over saltwater; however, I won't turn down an invite to the ocean ever again.