Bethany Hamilton

(www.usatoday.com)

A hero is someone that has done something amazing and you respect or admire her for what she has done. My hero is Bethany Hamilton. She is a surfer. She was born on February 8th, 1990 in Hawaii. I respect Bethany because she got attacked by a shark and lost her whole left arm and she still continues to go surfing.

(www.bethanyhamilton.com)

Bethany’s parents began teaching her to surf before she could barely even walk. She learned how to surf very quickly. Her mom and dad were active surfers along with her two older brothers. Bethany’s dream is to become a professional surfer. In 1997 she went into her first competition. She went on to win the 7-9 Short board and Long board competitions in challenging conditions at the age of seven.

(www.sportsposterwarehouse.com)

On October 31,2003 on the coast of Kauai’s North Shore in Hawaii, Bethany, her dad, her brother, and her best friend Alana Blanchard went surfing. Bethany was laying on her surf board waiting for some good waves to come in. Then all of a sudden, a 14-foot tiger shark attacked her board taking a 17 inch wide bite off the board with her left arm as well. The shark jerked Bethany back and forth, and it ripped off her arm just below her shoulder before disappearing. Bethany was able to use her right arm and paddle her self into shore. She was rushed to the hospital immediately. She lost 70% of her blood that day.

I consider Bethany as my hero because a shark bit her arm off and she still continues to go surfing in the water. She is very brave and courageous because most people would have feared going back in the water. Instead, Bethany had no fear, went back into the water, and has been surfing since her healing. If I was her I would never go swimming in any water besides in a pool because I would be so scared of sharks being in the ocean again. She is very lucky that she is still alive today and that she can continue to reach her dream of becoming a professional surfer. I admire her for being so brave and courageous and having the determination to stay in the water and continue surfing.

(www.bethanyhamilton.com)

I would love to meet Bethany one day and watch her surf. She has taught me a lesson to never give up my dreams in my life. Bethany went through a lot of pain and lost 70% of her blood and almost died, but she survived and never gave up her dream on becoming a professional surfer. And still today she is working on becoming a professional surfer. She is a true hero because she never gave up.