I often find that when people ask me what I do for a living and I say ”Teach scuba diving” their reaction seems to be slightly dismissive. It sometimes gives rise to the thought that it appears to not really qualify as a form of employment if you are doing something that many people see as a ”hobby”. Many people will respond with ”well at least you are doing something you love”. I find this amusing – is a career in anything not meant to be ”you doing something you love”?
If not, why do you do it? How many people hate their jobs? What do you get out of what you do?
Why do I take people diving?
Well, I have never found anything quite as rewarding as watching a student go from fear, nervousness, apprehension, and lack of confidence to being a good diver, comfortable in the water and ready to explore the marine world. Learning to dive is a life changing experience: once you have shown a potential diver the basics, once they have mastered the skills and once they have spent a few hours underwater the world seems a different place. You have a plethora of new creatures to discover, talk about and experience. You have the tantalising anticipation of the unknown as you drop below the surface for every dive, knowing you will see so many things: reefs, wrecks, marine life, behavioural changes in creature as the day changes and so much more. There is always going to be something down there you have not seen before, not seen recently, and may never see again.
Diving is a realm of tranquillity, beauty and magnificence, from the most minute nudibranch to a great big whale lumbering by, there is something for everyone on every dive.
Everyone can dive, many people fear the unknown so they don’t, but get them past that point and there is no looking back.
