A weekend I will forever hold close to my heart.
My first dive trip after 7 years. Since my open waters experience, I thought my affinity with diving came to an end. Never would I expect to see myself in a wet suit, rigged up with the dive equipment and making the descent into the deep blue sea again. But I did.
Before the trip, I was having tons of second thoughts and seriously considered backing out despite the assurances of my friends, one of whom is a dive master himself! The first experience really freaked me out that I had zilch confidence to give it another shot. Boy..the amount of trepeditions and fears that hit me like big waves was unimaginable. I don't know what came over me to even agree to go for this one in the first place. And it was for an advanced diver course! Its totally beyond me!
Having gone and come back, it is all so surreal to me. I had a more positive feeling for this trip as compared to the first one and it turned out to be a really good one. I had my fair share of struggles (mostly psychological) but with supportive buddies and conducive learning environment, I managed to overcome my irrationalities and it's really a personal achievement that its so priceless.
My achievements and the obstacles that preceded them include:
1. Check out dive (11.5m) @ Dayang House Reef
- had problem descending
- almost hit the boat that was above me until Han spotted me
2. 1st Adventure Boat Dive (25.3m) @ Pulau Lang
- struggled to descend again; kept wanting to surface a few times
- remembered panicking until Han came to guide me down slowly
- the initial was tough but it got smoother along the way
3. Peak Performance Adventure Dive (12.5m) @ Crocodile Rock
- made to hover, clear mask and deploy the safety 'sausage'
- my open waters basics were being put to the test and they were being re-learnt in this dive
4. Night dive (12.5m)
- navigation in the dark!
- got lost with Bee, my buddy and we kept floating several times
- the feeling of not being able to see what's around me really gripped me
5. Deep dive (37-38m) @ Rainers Rock
- a dive I almost didnt go for as I had a block in my left ear; feared that history would repeat itself
- turned out to be my favourite dive
- swam through schools of fish and it was beautiful!
- got to really appreciate the underwater marine life better this time
6. Navigation Dive
- a 2nd round of navigation practice since the night one was a flop!
7. Leisure Dive @ jetty
As you can see, it was truly a milestone for me. Through this trip, I've learnt to see diving beyond my preconceived notions and beginning to be more confident in it. Above it all, I developed a new found respect for all dive instructors out there! Its no easy feat to have so many lives in your hands! RESPECT! And am better able to appreciate the beauty that's beneath.
Sometimes I really believe that my NIE experiences are no mere coincidences. The friends I made & the relationships established all serve to be redefining who I am. Certain beliefs and fears that I might have held on to have been or are being confronted or reinforced in my 1.5 years in NIE. I will not trade these moments for anything else.
All things happen for a reason. This I'm sure.
The buddies who made all the difference!
Dayang's experience will always remind me of how I had to confront my personal fears and taking the step to overcome them, notwithstanding the crucial factor of having support from friends that played a big role in being able to do what I always thought its beyond me!
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