Bethany Hamilton

Bethany with the board she had her accident on. (insidesocial.com ())

On October 31, 2003 Bethany Hamilton, who was 13 years old, lost her arm in a surfing accident. It was one morning that she and her friend were on the beach. The waves were small and everything was calm, and there were a lot of sea turtles surrounding the area. She was lying back on the surfboard when she noticed something pulling her down from her left arm. It was a tiger shark. She quickly realized that the shark had taken off her left arm and the marks of the teeth were on the surf board. Her best friend's father took her to the hospital but when they arrived she had lost about 60% of her blood. Bethany's father was supposed to have a knee surgery that morning, but she took his place in the surgery room. She then spent about a week in the hospital recovering from both her surgery and her attack. A month later after the attack she once again was surfing. She is my hero because she never gave up regardless of her trials and tribulations. She never gave up on the thing she loved the most, surfing.

A hero is someone who helps and never gives up on other people or themselves, regardless that she only had one arm, she still surfed. She taught herself to surf with one arm with the help of her father. She never gave up because it was something she loved. Her first competition was in 2004, and she placed 5th place. This to me, makes her my hero because a month after losing her arm in a surfing accident she went back in the water, and a year later she's in a champion of the 2005 NSSA National Champions, earning her first national title. Years later in 2007 she realized that this was more than a dream and that she wanted to turn pro. She's participated in many competitions but one of her main highlights was being 2nd place finish in ASP 2009 World Junior Championships. She's a very inspirational person, and I admire her a lot because she didn't give up on the thing she loved the most.

Bethany surfing in a wave. (sup-surfing.org.uk ())

She is also a hero to many other people, and an inspiration to the people who are an amputee. Not many people who survive a shark attack would be willing to go back into the water and do the sport that she is doing. It took a lot of hard work, patience and dedication, and also a lot of support from her family and friends. I admire her patience with herself, because it didn't take one try to get back to surfing. It took many times; she was willing to take the falls of fails and the highs of the triumphs. That's why she's my hero, never giving up and always giving back to her fans and followers.