Becoming an open water diver: First breaths underwater.

The road to becoming a diver is different for everyone, mine started when I was living in Bangkok being bored with life and longing for something more exciting.

I was surfing the internet for something that might be interesting. I love outdoorsy activities and extreme sports has always been a passion. When I was younger my dream was to become a professional motocross rider but unfortunately that did not work out because it's an expensive sport. As I grew older I had to accept that motocross would not be my future, it was only a matter of time until I had to find something new to make life a bit more interesting.

This point came about 4 months ago when I was sitting in my apartment in Nonthaburi, Thailand. I was an online teacher back then and to be honest my life really sucked in terms of being bored and feeling like there is no purpose to life. Something had to change and it needed to happen quickly. While looking online I came across many exciting things but one thing stood out above the rest and that's how it all started.

I saw a YouTube video by PIDS and it immediately caught my attention. I was so excited I could hardly sleep that night. After some searching I booked my bus ticket with Lompraya High speed Catamaran and a week after that I was off to Koh Phangan to do an open water diving course.

I never admitted this to anybody that asked but I was shit scared when the time came for me to get in the ocean and actually go diving, but I'm getting ahead of myself so let's start at the beginning. I arrived on Koh Phangan, completely out of my comfort zone and at first I didn't really know what to do. When you get of the boat here you get bombarded by loads of local taxi drivers wanting to take you to where you want to be. I tried making my way out of the big crowd of people bargaining for taxi fares and found myself a motorcycle taxi driver that took me to my resort and gave me a short tour of the area I was living in. After I checked in at my resort he took me to PIDS where I spoke to the staff and booked my open water course.

The next day I had to be at the dive shop 8:00 am to meet my instructor and to get started on the theory part. Believe it or not but the theory was the most difficult part of it all, and it was quite easy. After the a few videos and exams we took a lunch break and headed for the pool to do some practical training. The pool is where I got a little nervous. My instructor's name was Gary and he actually still works at PIDS. He is a great instructor and he made me feel very relaxed and confident. I finished my pool activities, it took about 3 hours and we were done for the day.

Soph running through a buddy check with Jean!

When doing an open water course you learn to do something called a buddy check. I was introduced to many different phrases to remember all the checks for example: Bruce Willis Ruin All Films, Big White Rabbits Are Fluffy, etc. You get the point.

Check list:

B - BCD (Buoyancy Control Device)
W - Weights
R - Releases
A - Air
F - Final checks

These checks are very important and should be done every time before getting into the water. So after Gary and I did our checks we headed into the water, entering the water with something called the 'Giant Stride'.

Giant Stride

When I jumped into the water I got really nervous and it hit me that I was actually about to go diving, it was a little overwhelming at first but then nervousness turned into excitement. We swam to where our buoy was tied to get ready for descend. As I went underwater I closed my eyes for a few seconds and felt the water surround my whole body and, as I opened my eyes I was welcomed to a new world I had never seen before. It was a beautiful summer day and the water was crystal clear with 15 + meters of visibility.

I had always thought that diving would be something difficult to do but it turns out to be quite the opposite. It is super easy and I believe everybody should try it. Our oceans are vastly unexplored and the more people start diving the more knowledge we gain about our planet. Raising awareness to rid our oceans of plastic and garbage, it a huge problem that needs to be eliminated. Save the oceans and experience a new world, help make our planet a better place for future generations. The survival of earth is our responsibility!

Take care Steemians!