#210 Tiny Reminders > Forgotten Dreams: What My Kelly Slater Binge Taught Me

When I was in my early 20’s and the surf was flat and blown out, I would stagger home from the beach and pop in an old surf movie. If Tony was there with me, it would usually be Thicker Than Water or September Sessions. Sometimes, we'd even throw in Peaches, one of the only female focused contemporary surf films at the time.

But when Tony wasn’t around, I’d go back to my first surf movie I ever owned, Kelly Slater in Black and White. I watched that thing until I knew every turn, every floater, and every heavily synthesized musical note that they were set to. I memorized every line, every single funny answer Kelly would give to the horrendous interview questions (he was barely sixteen at the time.) They became inside jokes for me and the misfit band of female surfers I ran with in high school. We even made our own version of the flick on my dad’s ancient video camera complete with our own horrendous surfing clips.

So now, as I am trying to get myself back in the water to reclaim a simple joy that was stolen from me by illness and injury, I have begun to crave old surf movies. But, even though I still have the old VHS tapes, I don’t own a VCR. So, I subscribed to The Surf Network. And the first movie I watched? Kelly Slater in Black and White. And then Peaches, and 7 Girls. And then I went down the rabbit hole of old 60’s and 70’s surf flicks like the monumental Five Summer Stories. 

And the great thing is, when I come home from school way too wiped out to surf, or when the errands I have to run after school bring me home well after dark, I can still pop in (or more accurately, stream) an old surf flick and keep my stoke alive. So that when life does present an opportunity to get in the water, I have the motivation to seize the chance.

So, what’s the takeaway here? Find little easy ways to remind yourself of your goal so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of life and to do’s and adult responsibilities because, before you know it, you’ll wake up next year and realize you forgot what you wanted to do in the first place. 

It's amazing what a familiar TV show or movie can do for your brain. When you know every twist and turn, your mind can settle in to the easy distraction, and it actually becomes relaxing to watch. So, what's your Go To movie or TV show to settle your stressed out mind?

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