For someone perfectionist and self-sufficient, sometimes we might even reject the idea of holding onto a lifeline.

Almost about 3 years ago, I was experiencing my first banana boat ride in the southern coast of Java. In case you didn’t know, typically for a banana boat to operate, they are best around clear waters and moderate waves. In Indonesia, they are often located around the northern coast where the sea waves are much calmer and are the tropical paradise.

That day, wasn’t exactly a sunny day; the storms were approaching and it’s just another day in the southern coast of Java with its furry of storms, muted sky, and strong waves. Somehow, the banana boat operator thought it was just another day and they were in for some extra dough.

So, my cousins and I bravely hop on to the ride without thinking twice. One of my cousins are normally shying away from this kind of experience but that day, he was really up dancing with the storms, figuratively and literally.

To them, we’re just a tiny morsel ready to be sent into the deepest parts of the ocean

At first, it looked fun. Afterall, I had always wanted to try this ride as I often see it in Bali where they have calm waters and has tropical island vibe. I forgot that day, the ride was in the untamed southern coast of Java. It’s connected to the Indian Ocean where you can easily be swallowed by the strong waves. To them, we’re just a tiny morsel ready to be sent into the deepest parts of the ocean. God knows what kind of fish and sea creatures exist around those waters too.

As the boat that carried the three of us move at speed to about 500 meters from the shore, it made a sudden U-turn that threw us into the ocean. In my mind, we all should be heartily laughing and enjoying the ride. What really happened that time was a struggle to get to the boat again, as the waves were swallowing us without mercy and it started raining too.

That continued for more than 4 times until the ride was over and we were not exactly sent to the shore but dropped almost 50 meters from the coastline. There was one lifeline, a rope that was chained to the shore that should help us to get back safely into the land.

It was drizzling endlessly and the waves were trying to pull me in the middle rather than safely escorting me to the land. I swam with my arms and that time; I felt the shore was so out-of-reach. I did my best, gripping on the rope with one hand and tried to balance my body fighting against the waves.

I glanced my cousin once in a while and he was struggling as much as I did. He had much more strength to swim more faster even though the ocean tried to swallow both of us mercilessly. At the same time, I couldn’t even see my other cousin but that wasn’t really my priority.

I eventually learned to match the pace with the strong waves and used it to my advantage to carry me faster to the shore. I saw my cousins did the same and after sometime, finally my feet reached something familiar, the sand.

My arms were so sore trying to fight the waves and instead of feeling happy about the ride, I told my mom whose waiting on the shore that it was a bad idea to ride the banana boat in such weather. Eventually the three of us got into the land safely but we learned our lesson to never do this kind of ride in the southern coast of Java.

That experience came into the picture again as that reminds me of problems that comes rippling mercilessly into my life from the last couple of years.

Waves can either be problems or trends in our life and society. There’s always something new coming around or problems which seem endless and always trying to swallow us into oblivion. Naturally, we human wants to survive but it all gets murky with ego and pride that we have.

For someone perfectionist and self-sufficient, sometimes we might even reject the idea of holding onto a lifeline. We tried to survive on our own, despite our problems are showing us no mercy. Sometimes, matching our pace with the waves can be its own advantage. We should have not been stubborn to be fixated with our ways just to reach a goal.

It might not be the best/ideal life that we picture it to be. However, at the end of the day, we survive and closer to our goals which somehow makes it all worth it.