Rough Draft: Diving with Nemo

       To me, scuba diving is like camping in the great outdoors. Once you've experienced nature in its own domain, it opens your eyes to the beauty of natural order. Animals and plants living in harmony, forming a delicate balance that can easily be disrupted. In both scuba diving and camping, you can see nature untainted with humanity's footsteps.

            My first day of scuba diving was a sensational and eye-opening experience. It was a bright, sunny day with the leaves rustling slightly from the gentle touch of the morning breeze. I started out learning the basic hand signals and the different parts of my gear in a classroom. The session was only fifteen minutes at most. Afterwards, I was given a suit and was directed to the closest restroom. Inside, I had the hardest time putting on my wet suit. At that moment, I thought to myself that this was going to be an interesting day.

            After I somehow managed to put on my wet suit, I waited outside for the rest of my family to finish changing. We were all here together to experience scuba diving for the first time. We took turns taking pictures and waited for our instructors. There were two instructors present, a male and female, named Enrique and Josie respectively. My mother and I went with Enrique, while my father and brother went with Josie. Our next objective was learning basic diving techniques in the swimming pool. Enrique carefully strapped on the oxygen tank to my gear and handed me a pair of goggles. When I put them on, I glanced downwards into the clear blue water and saw my instructor sitting down on the swimming pool floor, beckoning me to follow.

            I swam downwards, ignoring the popping sensation in my ears. I formed a cross-legged formation and used both my arms to push myself downwards on the swimming pool floor. Both Enrique and I waited for my mother to join us. From the pool floor, we watched my mother trying to sink down on the floor however, no matter how much she tried, the water pushed her upwards. After a couple of minutes have gone by, my instructor pulled my mother's leg down and I held her hand to keep her from floating back up. Learning the diving techniques were interesting. We had to learn how to use our diving buddy's spare regulator in case of emergencies and how to empty our goggles in case there was water inside. My favorite part about learning that technique was learning how to do it underwater. By in large, this session was to allow us to practice breathing through our regulator, which is the piece that goes on your mouth. For some reason, some people have trouble with breathing through their mouth, instead of their nose.

            After we practiced the diving techniques, we made our way to the beach. I was walking through the beach, dragging my oxygen tank across the hot, dry sand. I waited for my instructor and the rest of my family to make their way to the beach. I sat down and dug my foot under the wet sand. When the wave washed up on the sand, I dipped my foot into the water and felt a cool sensation throughout my body. Soon, I heard voices approaching and looked back to see the crew walking to my direction. I stood up and walked in the water, continuing to drag my oxygen tank, until I was waist-deep. My instructor helped my mother and I put on our oxygen tanks and weight belts and then motioned us to follow after putting on his own mask.

            As I dove down and swam in the open sea, I saw so much life. School of fish swimming in harmony, seaweeds dancing to the sound of peace, coral reefs standing with great pride and the ocean floor glistening from sunlight. I swam deeper, following my instructor, and began to feel my stress lifting off my shoulders like a caged bird that has been freed. The sight of this beautiful harmonic balance, made me forget about all my worries.

            I swam farther and farther away from the beach and saw colorful starfish and fish with vibrant colors that decorated the ocean like ornaments on a Christmas tree. I looked back from time to time, to see my mother swimming right behind me. In a distance, I saw my brother and father swimming with Josie. Occasionally, I saw my brother wave at me and I waved back, then continued to follow Enrique. We circled around and headed back towards the beach.     

            During this journey, I saw an orange clown fish with white stripes swimming with a small group. I called him Nemo and followed him. Luckily, he was swimming in the same direction towards Enrique. I tried to poke him, but he swam away instantly. Soon, he started circling around and around. Enrique saw my fascination for Nemo and formed a rendezvous point. He signaled my mother and I to the surface and told us to stay around this point for five minutes. Afterwards, I dove back down and tried to find Nemo. His vibrant orange color was easy for me to pick out. I swam down and tried to swim as close as I could without scaring him away however, he knew what I was thinking and kept his distance. I gave up trying to swim close and watched him from afar.

            He swam carefree back and forth as though he wanted to send me a message. I watched him from afar and saw the peace that surrounded him. Then, I watched him swim away to join a school of fish, far off in the distance. Soon, I saw him no more. It was a beautiful feeling to be a part of something bigger. I looked all around me and observed the undisturbed wild life. I felt my presence was a part of something bigger than myself in the open sea. I felt like I can do anything.

            After we circled around and made our way back the beach, we all regrouped on the shore. We laughed and talked briefly about our individual experiences. We went to the showers and changed back into our clothes. While I was in the shower, I realized how much I enjoyed diving. When a person tells someone that they were destined to do something, diving was what I was destined to do. It felt right, since the first moment I touched the water. Ever since I was a child, I always loved the water. I swam at every opportunity I had. Perhaps there wasn't much to figure out. I loved the water, therefore it was only natural that I loved diving. When we all waited for our instructors, the family sat down at a table. I kept on glancing back at the beach, yearning to go back inside. Enrique tapped my shoulder and smiled. He talked to me about getting a diving license and part-time job offers. I was very interested and overjoyed to hear. I was inspired to dive to observe nature on its own course.

            After we got packed up, we headed back to our house. I looked outside my car window and saw the beach slowly getting farther and farther away. How can I love diving so much after one day, I will never understand. But one thing was clear. This was not going to be the last time. In all my years, I never felt so free and strong. I felt like I was able to do anything. It was a liberating and powerful experience that I will never forget.