This is what happiness looks like when you find yourself lucky enough to get in the water every day for more than 5 years. Photo: Aubrey Lao
Meg Roh is your average Orange County 18-year-old surfer girl, only she’s accomplished an incredible feat – surfing for more than two thousand days consecutively. And She’s still going.
At 12-years-old, mouth full of braces, Roh made the decision to surf every day in preparation for a contest. “I started surfing (the streak) on June 1, 2011, as a way to practice and get better for an upcoming surf contest,” Roh told CNN. “I didn’t end up winning the contest, but I ended up surfing every day just to practice and be happy.”
That kind of nonchalance fails to adequately capture Roh’s level of commitment. To surf each day, Roh’s made a pact with her father, Dan Roh, mother, Sue Hann, and stepfather, Dan Hann to keep her grades up. It seems that’s all the motivation a surf stoked teenager needs – Roh’s current GPA is a 4.33.
She also reportedly once surfed through a 104-degree fever, something her mother seems to remember with misgivings.
“I had a moment when it was very stormy out there,” said Sue. “And then she got out and said ‘I am a little dizzy right now.'”
“She wouldn’t let [Sue] take her temperature until she got home,” said Roh’s stepfather.
A senior in high school, Roh’s now in the process of weighing different options for college, all of which are close to the coast: UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, and the University of Hawaii.
And while her streak may soon come to an end (she promised a friend she’d go camping in Joshua Tree for her birthday), Roh’s already made a lasting impression on those who know her story.
Her mother recalls one man who stopped surfing after back surgery but felt compelled to get back in the water after hearing her story.
“I’ve been in the water where people have approached her,” Sue told CNN. “Then they tell their story of how she inspired them and I get choked up and I have to paddle away because it’s kind of amazing.”
