HAWAII Arm loss doesn't beach surfer

If she could be in anyone else's shoes, they'd better have clean feet.
By CASSIA MYERS
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Last Halloween, 13-year-old surfer Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a shark and lost her arm.
By Thanksgiving, the Hawaiian teen-ager-turned-celebrity was back on a surfboard.
Bethany, now 14, has traveled the world during the past year, telling her story of faith, determination and recovery. Despite her disability, she has won two regional surf competitions and is a part of the USA Surf Team. She won ESPN's "Comeback of the Year" ESPY award, as well as a Teen Choice award.
Q. What does surfing mean to you?
A. I was 5 when my parents taught me how to surf. ... I just love surfing. Where I live it's a sport. ... It's almost like a lifestyle for us.
Q. How did it feel to win your first surfing competition after the attack?
A. To win or place in the finals?
Q. Whichever one was most meaningful.
A. I got into the nationals in California. I placed fifth in that, and that's like the biggest contest for amateur surfing for the United States.
Q. If you ever had a relatively normal day, what would it be like?
A. I usually wake up, go surfing, eat a smoothie, and I come home and do schoolwork all day because I home-school. Then, go surfing or soccer or horseback riding.
Q. What types of movies and music do you like?
A. I like contemporary Christian music. And also for movies I like comedy like "Zoolander" or surf videos.
Q. Your story might be made into a movie. Is that exciting?
A. I guess so. I think it will be fun. I'll be doing the stunt-surfing and overlooking it.
Q. Whom do you admire?
A. I admire a lot of people. Kelly Slater - I like him 'cause he has a good attitude toward others when he rips ("rip" is surf lingo for surfing aggressively). Oh! I like Mel Gibson 'cause he's courageous enough to produce "The Passion of the Christ" in Hollywood.
Q. If you could be in anyone's shoes for a day, whom would it be?
A. Somebody with clean feet! ... Probably a pro snowboarder. Actually, I'd probably be in a horse's hooves. I own a horse, and then if I could know how it feels, I could do the right things for it 'cause I'd know what it's like.
XCassia Myers is a freshman from Fort Worth, Texas.