Scuba diving: a new addiction

I've always loved the ocean, and tropical places are my favorite destinations, so I guess it was only natural for me to decide to become a certified diver.  Though I'll admit I was terrified when I first signed up for my beginner diving course in Belize. Despite being a decent swimmer, my risk-adverse self was afraid of all the possible things that could go wrong while underwater: running out of air, equipment malfunctioning, being eaten by a shark (hey it could happen!), and more recently, I've developed an irrational fear of the lethal box jellyfish that can kill an adult human within seconds. Not to mention, I'm also a little claustrophobic. 

But thankfully, I came to my senses and decided to not let my absurd fears hinder me from experiencing the underwater world through diving. After all, we only live once and I fully intend on exploring what this planet has to offer during my time on Earth.

My first experience with diving was rather pleasant. We went with Belize Diving Services for our Discover Scuba class (This class is only an introduction to scuba diving and does not get you certified. Great for those who are new to diving and just want to try it out before investing time and money becoming certified). Our instructor was wonderful; he taught us basic safety exercises and we went for our first easy dive.

Taking the first plunge was nerve-wrecking that I needed assistance jumping off the boat :P

After Belize, I gained a little confidence in myself and knew I wanted to become certified someday. A few months later, we eventually obtained our open water certification in Maui with Maui Diving (they offer the most inexpensive open water course I could find on Maui - $189!)

[photo courtesy of our instructor]

Eagle rays [photo courtesy of our instructor]

Though even after becoming certified, I was still a bit uneasy about diving for some reason. Maybe because in Maui I panicked during the exercise where I had to take off my mask underwater (water went up my nose and I started to choke and thought I might die. But really, it wasn't that bad in retrospect). Or maybe because I dreaded having to carry 40+ pounds of gear on my back (nearly half my body weight) and walk to shore to begin our dive everyday, and now I absolutely loathe shore diving (vs. boat diving) for this reason. Then I thought perhaps diving was just one of those things that I needed to do more often to become more comfortable with.

Fortunately, turns out I was right about that.

In Thailand last Thanksgiving, we completed two dives at Racha Yai off of Phuket with Sharkey Scuba and somehow that experience changed everything. For the first time, all the anxiety I had about diving disappeared and I felt completely at ease underwater. I realized that having a great divemaster makes a big difference, and being properly weighted with weight belts also makes a world's difference for buoyancy control. I wish I could've stayed underwater forever, and now I feel like I'm addicted and am always thinking of places to go with diving opportunities!

Moray eel

Moray eel

School of barracuda

Places I want to dive eventually

• Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Big Island, Hawaii (night dive with Manta Rays)
• Red Sea, Egypt
• French Polynesia
• Southeast Asia again: Malaysia? Indonesia? Philippines?

Tips

• Consider buying your own wetsuit if you have smaller body dimensions or if you get cold easily, like me. I'm tiny and it's impossible to find a properly fitted wetsuit at dive rental shops so I opted to get my own 5mm wetsuit (most places I've been to only carry 3mm which is too cold for me). I've learned that avoiding the cold is a major contributor to my enjoyment of scuba diving.
• Complete the classroom portion of the open water course online before you leave for vacation so you won't have to spend vacation time "studying".
• For taking underwater videos, get a GoPro.