Personal Blog of a Diver: Where the Job Turns into a Passion
I did not grow up near the beach, but I have numerous fond memories of my family spending happy times playing in the sand or jumping the ocean waves. Most of these times were in Bodega Bay taking day trips with my family. I remember building sandcastles and having my younger sister do what younger sisters do…. ruin them unexpectedly with a bucket full of water! Despite those typical sibling tricks, we loved being together at the beach and so I grew up connecting the ocean to happiness, love, and pure joy.
Many years later, an unexpected tragedy turned my love of the ocean into an outlet to heal. I decided it was time to learn how to dive. I am an adrenaline junkie and am said to have hobby ADD. I immediately recruited my wife to take a class with me at a local dive shop. We completed that course and a month later went on a work trip to Laguna Beach, CA, and found ourselves taking an extra weekend to try out our newfound diving skills. Since that day, one of my favorite quotes is from Jacques Cousteau. He said, “Sometimes we are lucky enough to know that our lives have been changed, to discard the old, embrace the new, and run headlong down an immutable course. It happened to me at Le Mourillon on that summer’s day, when my eyes were opened to the sea.” Well, that summer’s day in Laguna Beach, when I first peered into the ocean and could see all the wonders it had to offer. We were changed forever, hooked, and connected to the sea for the rest of our lives. I knew, right then, that my and my wife’s life had changed forever.
We were living in Sacramento Ca and were lucky enough to have Michael Cannon as our instructor and mentor at Dolphin Scuba Center. To learn from a man that was so skilled and an excellent instructor, who did not cut any corners was a real gift that I will never be able to express enough thanks for. He was the most gracious, caring, and knowledgeable instructor. He instilled in me a level of service to our students that I still have to this day.
My journey to becoming a SCUBA Instructor culminated in the summer of 2019 when I passed my SSI instructor evaluation. I’ve had many awesome opportunities as a dive professional including working with Dolphin SCUBA, One of the largest scuba training centers in the nation. I have met so many awesome people and visited so many awesome dive sites.
There is much more to my journey than I can fit here. But suffice it to say, that I know my passion and it is not just the ocean, it is not just diving…it is teaching others how to dive and opening their eyes to this wonderful underwater world. Does it cost a lot to become an instructor? Yes. Will you make yourself rich? No. Well…not financially anyway. In all other ways? Hell yes!! The feeling of taking another human being and introducing them to this underwater world and cultivating their skills to do it, building their confidence, and empowering them with the courage to move forward on their journey to unite with the ocean. There are no words that can explain what I feel when I am teaching scuba. If you’ve dreamed of following your bliss, don’t delay. I promise you will not regret it!
