Under The Sea
By Kate, age 17, New Hampshire
There's so much to do in the summertime! And if you're like me, you want to do something different, thrilling, and fun. Scuba, anyone?
My parents got into scuba diving years ago, and just last year my brother and I started to get into it. My parents are close friends with the guy who taught them, and lucky for us he lives close by. We started going there a few nights a week for about an hour to learn the basics of scuba. It was an average class with a few other people, and we even had a small textbook and homework!
Once we finished with the classes, we went down to a public pool to splash around in the water. We were fitted with gear and reviewed each piece. The snorkel, the tank, buoyancy, and pressure. And then under we went!
At first it was freaky! It's natural to think you can't breathe underwater, and my first breath was very shaky. I was expecting a gulp of water. But I breathed in, and air filled my lungs. I laughed, almost forgetting to keep my mouth closed!
We sat around the first few times, getting used to all the equipment and being underwater. We practiced skills like removing our mask underwater and emergency scenarios, and soon we moved to the deep end!
We learned how to "pop" our ears, which kept them from building up with pressure, an important thing to know when scuba diving.
And then we moved on to our first open water dives! We splashed around in the lake, getting used to our new wetsuits that we had to wear in the chilly water. We made fishy friends and practiced more skills, and soon we were officially certified!
Now I have all my own equipment and even my own license to show off to my friends. You can be sure I will spend a lot of time underwater this summer!
