This summer I went sailing for the first time. My boyfriend loves to sail, and I’ve been hearing him talk about it for more than two years now, so I decided I should finally experience it. We went sailing together on a Sunfish sailboat named The Viking, and it was just big enough for the two of us. We borrowed the boat from my Dad’s best friend and we sailed around a small lake in New Hampshire. After sailing around for an afternoon, I finally understood why my boyfriend loves it so much. Sailing was both fun and peaceful. As I learned how to sail out there on the water, I was learning about life as well. I realized that many of the challenges and excitements of sailing held deeper messages that could generally be applied to life. After paying attention to all I was learning, I realized I got a lot more out of the experience than I ever anticipated. Here’s what I learned:

1. It’s easier to get out than go back.

Getting out to the middle of the lake was a breeze, but once the wind died down and we needed to get back, it was a little harder. Sometimes in life we get so caught up in what is happening next that it can be difficult to take a step back and recognize what it took to get you to where you are now.

2. You have to move left to go right.

When sailing you have to move the rudder left to go right. It would be nice if life was just a straight path for everyone, but sometimes in order to get where you want to be you have to do things you wouldn’t normally do to get there.

3. Sailing does not allow instant gratification.

Sailing is completely determined by how much and when the wind wants to blow. When I went sailing, wind was blowing from all directions across the small pond and often it wasn’t windy at all. This resulted in a lot of sitting and waiting. This made me think about how our world has become hooked on instant gratification. At one point in time, sailing was more than enough, but now it’s not and that’s why there are speedboats and huge motors that allow you to go further faster. However, I think that it’s important for everyone to not experience instant gratification every once in awhile.

4. Make the most of the wind while it’s blowing.

On that day I went sailing, there wasn’t a ton of wind, but when there was it was so exciting. In those moments where there was wind we could sail across the entire lake and it was so much fun. It's important to enjoy the little things, and the little moments, as cliché as that sounds

5. Anything is fun with the right company.

There was a lot of sitting around and waiting when we went sailing, but because I was with my best friend we had a good time. It’s true that with the right company, anything can be fun.