My step signature project helped fulfill a lifelong goal of mine to go scuba diving. This involved several classes, and four certification dives at the end. SCUBA training is mostly preparation and safety techniques to ensure nothing goes wrong during a dive.
I became a more confident person during my step project, and it helped me discover my goals. After I completed my certification, I was more open minded towards new challenges and opportunities. Facing adversity in such a unique way was empowering and reinforced my sense of self.
Something I wasn’t expecting coming into my project was the difficulty of the certification dives. Throughout the class, we had learned and practiced the skills we would need in to be certified. These were all done in a pool 1 on 1 with an instructor, and although I had some difficulty with some skills, I was always comfortable and quickly mastered them.
The certification dives were very different than practice sessions though. The water was cold, around 60 F at depth. This necessitated thick wetsuits, and I had different gear than in the pool. Still, I could deal with cold water and was confident in my ability. When we got out to the dive platform and started to descend though, my feelings changed. Visibility was extremely poor, roughly 5 feet. We were going deeper than we could in the pool, and between the pressure, temperature, and barely being able to see the divemaster, my anxiety shot up.
The skill I had the most problems with was flooding/removing my mask, putting it back on, and clearing out the water. For me it was a huge mental battle to continue breathing as water hit my face and nose. I started to panic and breath heavily, the urge to shoot up to the surface and quit was unbearable. But I had to remember that as long as I can breathe and stay composed, I will be ok. So I took my time, slowed my breath, sat there, and continued the skill. This happened to a lesser extent during later skills, but I was in control the entire time.This was a big lesson I learned to believe in myself and stay composed. All I needed to do was to remind myself that I could do it, and I was able to complete my certification.
This picture is of my sister and I. We were able to get certified at the same time which was an awesome experience, and I know we both appreciated having somebody we could lean on during the certification.
Learning to scuba dive truly reinforced what I wanted to do with my career. I always wanted to be a marine biologist as a kid, and while I am pursuing different fields now, it is still related. Being able to spend longer amounts of time underwater and interact with an environment I love made me sure I still wanted to study those environments as a biologist. It gave me the confidence to continue on this path and I can take some of the risks I need to fulfill my dreams.