Bethany Hamilton has influenced my life in a very big way. Bethany has overcome goals no one thought she could, she had to endure the pain of a shark attack, finding a way to surf again, and overcoming the goals of how she looks different and some people would consider her handicapped. Bethany was 13 when she was attacked by a 14 foot tiger shark, leaving her with a severed arm and great majority of her blood gone. After a month of multiple surgeries, faith, hope, and a strong will she was back in the water doing what she was born to do… surf. She has overcome many feats, competing professionally, on the non-handicapped circuit, and becoming a worldwide icon. Her story has now been made into a movie called Soul Surfer, which made me bawl my eyes out from everything she went through.

With that said, she has a very similar story to mine. I used to ride horses competively and thought about going professional at one point. But my dream came to a screeching halt when one summer as I was running my horse around the barrels as roll of thunder out of nowhere rumbled and scared my horse making him come to a halt and bucked me off. I sprained my knee from hitting the saddle and pulled ligaments and muscles making me wear a brace all the time. I wore a brace for the next three months everyday keeping all the muscles and ligaments in place. I had to overcome the same feats Bethany Hamilton did… obviously not as massive as hers. But I had to learn to ride my horse differently just like she had to find a different way to ride her board. I still have pain sometimes but Bethany has influenced my life so much because I can relate to everything she went though.