My Scuba Story
Saltwater runs through my veins. I was born in the island of Cebu, Philippines and grew up in a small beach town and fishing village of Argao. Some of my earliest memories revolved around the water: toes in the sand, sun burns, jelly fish stings, grilling fish at the beach, looking for seashells, the works! Growing up in my grandparent's house, I was exposed to scuba diving through an uncle who was a dive instructor. I remember being in awe of the stories of his travels and the different people he met and taught. It was not until college when I finally got my Open Water Certification from a Groupon deal; it was a birthday present from my mother after years of harassing her to let me get in the water. Coincidentally, it was also my last summer of nursing school and I knew that diving and nursing would open a whole new world for me. From then on, it was work and travel. The ultimate symbiotic relationship that has fulfilled my lifelong dream of traveling the world.
Fast forward a few years later, I found myself back in the homeland on a different island, on a dive trip, working on my Advanced Open Water Certification. At this point, I have only been diving a handful of times and I wanted to explore more of the seas. I knew I wanted to dive shipwrecks and dive deeper, and this was the next step. However, I was so nervous during the deep dive portion of my course that I may have given myself a little bit of a panic attack underwater and was convinced it was narcosis. Fortunately, my dive instructor was so awesome, he knew how to distract me with a cracked raw egg looked like under the deep atmospheric pressure. It was magic ever since! The images of the dives I went on in that trip are so imprinted in my memory that when I have bad days at work, the images pull me right back out into the water where everything is at ease and beautiful.
For me, scuba-diving is not exclusive to the daredevils of the world. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Diving has given me an environment of calmness, peace, stillness and beauty.
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