Bethany Hamilton is a professional surfer and sponsored by Rip Curl. She grew up in the tropical Hawaiian Islands and learned to surf at the age of five. Within the first portion of the book Bethany Hamilton the main character explains her life and how she was born in Hawaii. Bethany also talks about how she is homeschooled so she can spent the majority of her day in the water. Bethany explained her love for surfing. She had such a strong passion and started surfing at the age of five. Her parents taught her to surf and were the ones who introduced her into the sport. She has two brothers as well that love to surf. They frequently go surfing as a family and she says that's how they spent their weekends surfing with each other and friends. …show more content…
She shares how she looks up to her brothers for encouragement and support. She also loves her brothers with all her heart. I am also the youngest and have a brother who I always look up to. She always says “that's why i'm so competitive”(soul surfer) I can relate to this because i'm always trying to be better then my brother and always trying to do my best. Bethany also loves her brothers and they are her best friends. For example she says “love is bigger than a tsunami, stronger than any fear.”(soul surfer) I can connect to this quote because my brother and I love to hangout with each other, encourage one another and always keep each other busy. My brother is like my best friend. He can help me through …show more content…
She learned to surf with one arm and duck dive with a new hook attached to her board. When duck diving under a wave you grab both sides of the surfboard with your hands. Since she only had one arm it would flip the board over so she learned to dive with a custom rubber-tubing covered rope attached to front of her surfboard. She learned how to balance equally on her surfboard in a new way due to an unbalance with one less arm. She also learned how to push up to standing position using one arm so she didn't fall off the side of her surf board. Also, when paddling out it takes her double time because she only has one arm to paddle. Bethany has learned to surf with a handicap. Surfing with one arm presents many challenges. Since her attack many daily activities such as cutting fruit and tying her shoes are something she has struggled. She also had difficulty putting her hair up and tying bathing suits with one