A Day in the Life: BHBP

"Have you ever had to save anyone?" The dreaded question. I cannot count the amount of times I've been asked this, and every time I give the same, curt answer.

Yes. All of my coworkers have. We spend over eight hours in the sun every day, scanning the water and making sure no one is digging a seven foot hole behind the stand. We receive backlash from some families and praise from others. We handle first aids. We play with the local kids who come say hello every day. We calm down distraught family members. We train for CPR. Our job is never merely to sit on a stand and get tan.

After working as an ocean lifeguard for four years, I now have a broader understanding of not only my immediate community, but a sort of reverence for nature and the world around me. You start to appreciate the small things that happen during the day, like a beach patron bringing snacks or riding a wave in after taking a paddle. Dolphin and ray sightings never cease to give you the excitement a child has when seeing these animals for the first time.

While these highlights are beautiful, we also deal with the ugly. Some people will try and make your life a living hell - whether it's not respecting the rules of the beach, or complaining when they think you're doing something wrong. The truth is, everyone is the customer, but we are not selling anything, merely working to keep the public safe and promote a healthy beach environment.

Educating the public is one of the biggest challenges we face every day. People don't know what the flags mean, or they try and touch wildlife, or they drink out of open containers on the beach. With a smile on our faces, we are tasked with the responsibility of reminding others the regulations, and we are often not greeted with a pleasant response. Yet, we show up every day and do our job to the best of our abilities. It's what we train for. I have gained so many valuable skills from this job, including patience, communication strategies, assertiveness - the list keeps on growing.

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My favorite part of this job is one hundred percent the connections you make with beach patrons. While it is never easy to be nice to everyone, it's definitely worth it. I met a family a few years ago that comes back to my beach every summer, and the smiles on their girls' faces whenever I get to see them makes this job worthwhile.

The relationships that you foster with people on the patrol is another reason that this job has been so rewarding. My first year, I was nervous as hell to start working. Being in charge of hundreds of people's lives at a time is a huge responsibility. Thankfully, I had a great mentor and friend to guide me through all of it. Reina, my stand partner for three years, was always there for me both on and off the job. Whether it was backing each other up in the ocean or trading relationship advice, there was never a boring day with her (I MISS YOU IMMENSELY).

Tim, my stand partner as of this summer, has become one of my close friends and partner in crime when it comes to keeping the beach patrons under control. We both live on the street we guard, as as a result we both have great relationships with all of our neighbors on the block. He's taught me to really go with the flow when it comes to life, and to not take myself too seriously (ALREADY THINKING ABOUT OUR NEXT 20 QUESTIONS!)

Elizabeth, my best friend on the patrol, has been riding down to centre with me every morning for the past four summers. She's been the one to bring out my goofiness, and also has never failed to support me and stand by my side, even when others wouldn't. I'm thankful for all of our rain day jam sessions and heart to hearts <3 (COME AND VISIT ME ASAP)

The countless chalk board masterpieces, the cold windy days where we'd eat shore good donuts, the inside jokes, the workouts that made us all want to die, the years of Blue and Gold competition, the tee shirt collections, the nicknames, swimming with Haven, the power hours... all of these memories make me smile. The time at the beach that I've spent working will go down in my history books as some of the most influential days of my life. Thank you all for shaping me into the best version of myself yet.

Until Next Time,

Anna xxx