Surfing in Costa Rica with Sophia North

Sophia North ’21 is a senior in her fourth year at OHS and a surfer living in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.

Coming from a skiing family, Sophia traveled between the mountains, the United States, and Argentina chasing winter until her family decided to go somewhere warmer. Sophia and her family, in Patagonia at the time, could not return to the United States or Argentina because their residential leases were up in both countries, so they ended up in Costa Rica.

After stopping in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, where everyone surfs, Sophia first began surfing in her freshman year of high school. “I was actually kind of late when I started surfing because some kids grow up surfing in the water,” Sophia says about her surfing experience. “So we were visiting Santa Teresa, and we decided that my sister and I were going to do a surf lesson.”

Sophia recounts that she started off just “trying to stand up on the board,” and after the first lesson, she enjoyed the experience of being in the water—“I think it’s a humbling experience when you start surfing because you realize how big the ocean is and how small you are”—and wanted to continue. Eventually, she got to the surfing lineup—where the waves start to break—and began surfing real waves. “Once you surf real waves, you’re hooked. It’s over—you’re hooked,” Sophia notes.

Now, what Sophia enjoys most about surfing is having to be fully engaged in the sport. “When you’re in the water, you can only ever be present. Everything is moving around you. There are so many things you have to be thinking about that are only happening in the present—where’s the current going? What’s the wind doing? What tide is it? What time is it?” Sophia describes. “There are so many different elements that you need to focus on, and so I can’t come to the water thinking about a paper that’s due or a project that I need to work on. When I’m in the water, I’m in the water, and I think that’s the most beautiful part about surfing—you’re just totally immersed in what you’re doing.”

Sophia typically spends at least two hours a day in the water and regularly surfs with her family. She notes that surfing is the primary activity that her family does together: “I have to admit that my whole family surfs and that’s the primary thing that we do as a family on the weekends, when we don’t have school, on every vacation, it’s just what we do,” Sophia says. “The times that we’re not surfing, we’re too wiped out to be surfing, so we watch movies, hang out, walk on the beach.”

Aside from surfing with her family, Sophia also enjoys surfing competitively. One of the highlights of her surfing experience is the annual Costa Rica National Circuit, which involves traveling around Costa Rica and many different beaches to compete nationally.

Outside of surfing, Sophia enjoys learning about and getting involved in the medical world. Before the pandemic, she worked with one of her town’s only doctors in a triage clinic. “It’s been really fun to work with him and to learn hands-on in that environment,” she says. She has also worked with a doctor in the United States, whom she has known for four or five years now.

“[Medicine has] always been something I’m really passionate about and it actually ties a lot to surfing, to being active and moving and healthy,” Sophia says about her interest in the medical field, “so that would be probably one of my biggest endeavors—partaking in that world too.”

Now, as a senior, Sophia has recently spent a lot of time being with her family, surfing, and generally doing what is important to her. At OHS, she is currently enjoying her classes and working to stay fully involved with the OHS community. Sophia is co-leading OHS’s Bible Study Circle, where she organizes social “popcorn calls” twice a week.

Beyond OHS, Sophia hopes to continue doing what she enjoys doing and envisions that surfing will continue to play a significant role in her life. “I definitely want to continue surfing in college—that’s super important to me—and I hope to compete,” Sophia shares, “and beyond that, I want surfing to keep being a big part of my life, something I enjoy, something that I love to do, and put my extra time into.”