Words have great power.
They can create change and kindness, they can also be unkind.
“Words have the power to help us make choices,” said Shaun Tomson, a ’70s-era world champion surfer who was talking with students at Dwyer Middle School in Huntington Beach. “The power to make the right decisions, the power to make the right choices, the power to create a better life.”
The surf star’s special appearance on Thursday, Sept. 14, was a way to kick off the school year in an inspiring way, a chance for the school’s nearly 1,000 students to start fresh with an assignment to write words and create their own “code” contemplating two words: “I Will.”
“I don’t give kids a prescription, I give them a perspective,” Tomson said. “Every one of these students will write their code. They will share it in the classroom and read it. I think it’s going to create far greater engagement, kids will have an understanding of what other people’s mission is and it will create accountability.
“When a kid says ‘I will be a better friend,’ in front of their friends, it creates an impetus to be better,” he said. “I’m hoping it creates a positive wave that sweeps throughout the school.”
That’s also the hope of principal Christa Glembocki, who heard about Tomson’s inspirational talks from teacher Ron Keenan, a surfing buddy of Tomson.
Not only will the kids do the assignment, but so will all the teachers, she said. “This will be a big theme for us going forward.”
Tomson, originally from South Africa who now lives in Santa Barbara, has been giving motivational speeches for decades, a life calling made even more clear following the tragic death of his son at age 15, who made a bad choice to do a choking game with the intent of passing out, a decision that cost him his life.
Tomson talked about how his own childhood shaped his perspective, starting with his father, who was a champion swimmer as a teen with dreams of winning gold at…
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