I grabbed my board and swam out to him, ready to give an impromptu surf lesson.

When I reached him, he was out of breath but started laughing.

Dude, he said, please don't watch, this is embarrassing, nothing to be embarrassed about.

It's a hard sport to learn, it's your first time, I asked.

He nodded and ran a hand through his wet blonde hair.

I've actually never been to the ocean.

I spent my whole life in Arizona, that's funny.

I said, because you kind of look like the stereotypical Cali surfer boy.

He laughed.

Yeah, I've heard that before.

I'm Brendan, by the way.

I'm Nick, I said.

So, what brings you out to SoCal?

Brendan attempted to jump on his board again, but ended up face down in the water again.

He spit out water and said,

I actually just transferred to California State.

Uh-huh, no way.

I said, that's where I'm at right now.

That's sweet dude, then maybe you can teach me how to surf.

I laughed and ended up giving him some pointers.

We stayed out there for two hours and by the end of it, he was able to stand up on his board.

I admired that no matter how many times he fell in, he stayed positive and kept smiling.

...