As a photographer, I am giving interesting opportunities to observe so many aspects of life. This past week was one such experience and I wanted to share it with you because it was an uplifting experience.

These images may look like many surf images that I take from week to week, but they are so much more. Here is the backstory. These teenagers are all Israelis. On October 7th, their homes in Shaar HNegev (Southern Israel) were overrun by Hamas militants. Many of these kids had family members and friends murdered and kidnapped. Life as they knew it was forever shattered. About 120 students were brought to San Diego to continue their schooling here. On Sunday, some of them came to La Jolla Shores to learn to surf with a set of local volunteers and take a well needed break from the world.  

Looking through my lens, I witnessed a transformation where kids that have suffered real tragedy became, at least for a moment, simply kids again. As the session went on, there were more and more smiles, hoots, and cheers in Hebrew for one another.

At the end of the the session, they did a traditional paddle out in memory of those family and friends that were killed in the attacks.

It is hard for me to fathom what these young people have gone through or what their future looks like. This weekend, however, provided a brief but very real break from those concerns. The ocean can be such a wonderful place of healing and it was truly an honor to have a glimpse into this particular session.