Formation of Self Identity in Surfing vs Blogging

Self Identity is what constructs a human being and differentiates one person from another. It is a slow process that begins from the moment you step foot on the planet. Self Identity is determined by who you grow up with, where you grow up, and what you grow up with. Presently, one increasing factor that shapes identity is through virtual communication like blogging where someone can write about any topic he or she desires. Surfing can also shape self identity because it is far more than a sport especially to the serious surfing warrior. It teaches an athlete far more than any recreational sport will because it gives he or she a more powerful sense of mental toughness going face to face with the ocean.  There are many similarities and some differences between surfing and blogging that I find intriguing since the former is the real world while the latter is the virtual world. Both, however, contain their own lair, since blogging is like a personal secret hideout in the global web, while surfing only takes place in a specific area of the ocean.

Blogging and surfing are alike in the sense that they provide individuality and freedom. With blogging, any creative thought that comes to mind can be written and sent into the global circulation that is the Web.  It allows someone to express views on a current event that maybe indifferent to what is written in the paper. Blogging, however, also gives the rest of the world freedom since anyone can comment on what someone else has to say whether by giving positive or negative feedback. In the surfing world, the ocean is the global Web, allowing you to discover and express yourself through the thrill of riding waves. Positive feedback in blogging gives you a sense of pride, building confidence because you received recognition for your work. In surfing positive feedback comes a result of being able to properly read a wave approaching, getting ready for it, and being able to stand up and ride the wave to wherever it takes you. Once you finish riding a wave, a serge of confidence and adrenaline consumes you instantly and just makes you committed to continue riding, possibly even larger waves. In blogging, if you receive a negative comment,  for example after giving strong convictions over a controversial issue like whether Turkey should be integrated into the European Union, you as the writer might feel mentally shaken up depending on how passionate you are about the subject and what the negative comment specifically said about your view. Negative feedback can take even a more colossal toll on a surfer because the feedback is coming from the power of the ocean not from power of humans. Currents, riptides, and wiping out in the impact zone of a wave cannot only physically drain a surfer, but also enable him or her to lose mental toughness which is absolutely necessary in order to surf. In both blogging and surfing, it is important to evaluate why you might have merited negative feedback and what steps can be taken to revert that negative feedback to positive feedback. In other words, fixing your mistakes.

Self Identity is also formed by meeting different people. In blogging, however, the only people you ever meet comes through comments and allows you to present yourself through a virtual identity based on what you write in your blog. People sometimes blog because they want to virtually socially interact with someone and not feel alone. In surfing however, however you meet people face to face in the water each day, sharing the same passion of riding waves sometimes from dawn until dusk. Many surfers have the mutual feeling of loving and respecting the ocean as well as the indescribable feeling of riding a wave. Many surfers also speak the same surf jargon leading to more personal and dynamic conversations. Your true identity is revealed in surfing by others in discussion and by how well you can surf waves. Your blogging identity could be your genuine world identity but also can be concealed in your virtual identity. However nobody could know the truth until you have meet them directly.