It’s been a while since I first started diving, but I still remember my Open Water Diver course as if it was yesterday. From the feeling of being weightless in the water for the first time, to how surprisingly easy it was to take my first breath underwater. I didn’t expect it to be easy. In fact, I imagined breathing underwater to be quite the challenge, and amongst at least 3 other things that would prove to be hard. I soon realised that nothing was as difficult as I thought, and that a lot of things that I prepared myself for, didn’t happen at all.
So, if you are considering learning to dive, and are imagining things that can go wrong (like I was), here are 4 things that didn’t happen when I started diving!
People didn’t laugh when I failed to jump off the boat correctly
I must say that making a fool out of myself was high the list of things I was worrying about when I started diving. For some reason, getting in the water was a part of diving I was quite dreading (considering I learned to dive in the Maldives where most dives are shore dives, I didn’t actually dive off a boat until I was certified).
I did in fact faceplant spectacularly into the water once, but instead of laughing at me (like I had been so worried about), everyone around me where busy making sure I was okay and that I didn’t hurt myself.
I didn’t lose my regulator
When learning to dive, you are taught how to locate and grab your regulator if it (for any reason) comes out of your mouth. This somehow led me to believe that it could happen at any time. However, after countless dives, the only time my regulator has left my mouth has been when I have taken it out to smile for a photo underwater.
People didn’t roll their eyes at me for wanting to bring my GoPro
I love getting great photos and videos from my dives to post on my blog and will always bring my GoPro diving with me. At first, I was worried that more seasoned divers would find this annoying, as I had to ask someone to hand me the GoPro once I had gotten into the water. But, I quickly found that getting good pictures is a hobby of many divers, and have since completed the Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty!
My fellow divers didn’t grow impatient when my descent was slow
Another thing I was (irrationally) worried about was descending too slow and annoying the other divers for my first fun dives. But, I quickly learned that no one is as patient as a diver, whether they have 4 or 400 dives under their belt.
If you’re ready to learn how to dive, sign up for the PADI Open Water Diver course and get started online today. There will certainly be things that won’t happen during your course, but we’re sure you will fall in love with exploring the underwater world.
