BLOG #2: Surfboards
The cultural object that has had a significant impact on my life are my surfboards. My dad’s side of the family is from Cabo San Lucas and he has been a life guard for almost 17 years at La Jolla. He has been the one who taught me to appreciate and love the ocean at a young age. The reason surfing has had an important impact on my life is because it provides me with trill, peace, fear, and escape all at the same time.
Though surfing is a world-wide sport, media and pop culture depicts surfers as caucasian with blonde hair and thin figures. And I don't fit any of those descriptions. Most of the time when I am surfing, I’m usually the only dark skin one out in the line up. At a young age when I was first introduced to surfing I remember being very scared because I was easily convinced that everyone gets attacked by sharks, which was mainly due to messages in movies like Jaws.
This artifact still has an influence on my life today by pushing me to travel to more places to experience different waves and seek new thrills. As I reflect on my artifact, I notice that it does challenge pop culture stereotypes about my identity. There are many traditions in the hispanic culture but avid surfers are not one of them. Which I experience on my mother’s side of the family. They enjoy the beach but don’t really understand the concept of surfing or why I love it so much. And I have tried to bring along some of my cousins but they are not so intrigued, which it totally fine. But in the end I see it as a great thing because I still hold tight to my hispanic heritage/traditions but I feel like I have added another one to pass down to my own family some day.
