Why SCUBA Dive?

This was a question I first asked a potential employer many years ago when I applied for a job as a Chimpanzee Keeper. He informed me that to be a candidate for this position I had to be SCUBA certified. Wait, what? Last I checked chimpanzees weren't in the water!

So I made my way to the first local dive shop to find out about this whole SCUBA-thing. I found out SCUBA stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus and it is a way to breath underwater! That was a pretty strange and quite terrifying idea to me at the time, but I was intrigued so I signed up. Two weeks later I was sinking underwater in the shallow end of a pool with my SCUBA gear on. I did all of my skills of that session correctly and effortlessly and I even got an underwater high five from my Instructor! I was feeling pretty confident and excited when the Instructor informed our class that we would now be going into the deep end together to play and practice our buoyancy skills. "Wait, you mean the over-my-head deep end" I asked? Yes, that was the deep end he meant. So while still underwater in my gear I peered wearily over the edge (it was geared towards diving so it was a wall-type drop off). All of my class mates had already dropped down and were playing around, tossing underwater toys back and forth, bouncing off and on the bottom, but I was frozen. I thought to myself "there is no way I can go down there". As soon as that thought came into my neural traces my Instructor grabbed my wrist and over the side we went. Down, down, down and what do you know, I'm sitting on the bottom of the deep end. A few deep breaths and a few fin kicks later I was elated! This is where I'm supposed to be! Underwater! Like the fish, dolphins, coral reefs and mermaids! That night my life was changed forever.

I continued my work in the Zoo and Wildlife field but I was soon seeking out jobs that required SCUBA certification! I worked in the aquariums, with the Dive Rescue Squad, started leading trips to SCUBA destinations! Wow! I wish I had started this years ago. I dove every river, lake, quarry, ocean I could get to. I dove salt water, fresh water, swift water, calm water, clear water, dark water, nighttime, daytime; I even sat in the bathtub with my snorkel gear on (and sometimes still do)!

So why SCUBA dive? Well, since then I can say I've seen the calming effects being underwater can have on people, the friendships that are made, the exercise, adventure, and life-changing effects SCUBA has on people. I can honestly say that I have seen things in the underwater world that most people have never and may never see up close and in-person. There are so many different ways and environments for people to enjoy SCUBA, so if you haven't started yet, go find your underwater happy place!