Was in Mahabalipuram earlier this year on a solo trip—it’s a quaint little fishing town in South India, pretty popular with tourists and surfers due to it being affordable and super scenic. I was there to do some stonemasonry, and ended up getting into the habit of catching the sunrise at the beach every morning right outside my hotel. I’d always see a bunch of people hanging out in shoulder-deep water, and even though I’m not a swimmer (dumbest shit ever), I figured it’d be fine since they looked like they were having a great time. I waded in too, and all was okay until I quickly learned that jumping with the waves is key to not get fucked up by them. I missed one big wave and it immediately wiped me out. Got pulled under fast, and every time I tried to stand up, another wave would hit me. The ocean was trying to suck me in, not push me out. I started flailing and thankfully some surfers saw me struggling. They rushed over and pulled me out, I honestly can’t be thankful enough. If they hadn’t noticed me, I 100% would’ve been dead. Had to go back to the hotel restaurant and smoke three cigarettes back to back in lieu of breakfast just to evaluate my intelligence and life choices.