Scuba Diving Refresher

September will mark a year since our last actual dive at the Philadelphia Quarry in Tennessee. We were completing the Open Water Diver certification through PADI, and hopeful we might get to dive our first salt water dive during our trip to Orange Beach, Alabama. While our vacation plans didn't work out as planned whatsoever, we continued along our way while literally dreaming of diving.

Months went by, spring came to an end and our Facebook group was abuzz with divers planning trips up to the local quarries and nearby Florida beaches. Money was tight and we certainly could not pay for the refresher course, as needed. We continued dreaming and dredging down the path set before us.

One of the instructors who helped us pass our certification program, a PADI rescue diver at the time and, most recently, Dive Master, invited us to visit his pool for a refresher course. His wife, a talented diver in her own right, graciously entertained our toddler to no end while we dove down to the 8ft mark for some fun.

You may feel a little nervous when you are trying something again for the first time after a year. Your heart beats with a little more feeling, and I definitely felt I was breathing a little heavier before my feet touched the water. However, I cannot explain the familiarity that came over me when we were kicking around in full gear. It was the most amazing feeling since we dove in the first place, and I instantly remembered why I enjoyed diving in the first place.

I have always been terrified of water. Even on the first day of our certification, I was still scared. I felt like my mask was my only lifeline, considering it is the only "force" keeping water out of my nose. To this day I still have to remind myself that my regulator is what I truly need to "survive"; I can make it home without my mask and snorkel.

To those of you who may fear the water or diving in general, don't let this fear keep you from getting certified. I am certainly living proof that it is possible, and you will be so happy you worked to overcome it.