Before the Ocean, There Was a Swimming Pool 🤿

I love water.

Waterfalls, beaches, swimming pools—tell me there’s somewhere to swim, and I’m interested.

But diving?

That was something I hadn’t tried.

Someone close to me loves diving and is certified. That made me curious, but there was still a difference between being interested and actually putting on the equipment myself.

I think fear had something to do with it.

I was comfortable swimming. Staying underwater and breathing through equipment felt like another matter altogether.

But I wanted to give it a chance. So I signed up for a Try Scuba pool session.

Apparently, my collection of hobbies still had room for one more. 😂

Looking at All That Equipment

There was the tank, the mask, the fins and the equipment I would be wearing in the water.

Looking at everything, I felt nervous.

It’s quite easy to imagine yourself diving when someone else is telling you about it. When the equipment is in front of you and it’s your turn, you suddenly have a few more thoughts. 😂

Still, I was interested.

I wanted to know what it felt like to breathe underwater. I’d spent so much time enjoying the water from the surface. This was a chance to try something different.

And my first experience would happen in a swimming pool.

Before any sea adventure, I had some learning to do.

Breathing Needed My Attention

My first breaths underwater felt unfamiliar.

I was nervous, and there was plenty to get used to. The equipment, being beneath the surface, and breathing through the regulator mouthpiece.

That last part took some attention.

At one point, the mouthpiece was already in my mouth, but I still had to remind myself to breathe through it.

In and out through my mouth.

Something I normally do without thinking had suddenly become the thing I was thinking about most. 😂

I can laugh about that now, but it was part of being a beginner. Enjoying swimming didn’t mean everything about scuba would immediately feel familiar.

There was a new way of doing things, and I had to learn it.

Yes, That Is Me in the Yellow Mask

Looking at the pool photograph now makes me smile.

There I am, wearing the equipment, with that bright yellow mask and my hand making the OK sign.

A perfectly reasonable photograph to show everyone.

It doesn’t quite show all the nerves that came before it. 😂

But I like having it because I know what it took for me to get into that pool and try.

I had been curious. I had also been hesitant.

Now I had an experience of my own to talk about.

It was only a pool session, but that was exactly where I needed to begin.

One More Experience for Thana

I completed the SSI Try Scuba pool session and received my completion certificate.

I was happy I’d done it.

I wasn’t a certified diver yet. This was my introduction—a chance to experience the equipment, try breathing underwater and discover whether I wanted to continue.

And I do.

That’s probably the most interesting part for me.

The nerves didn’t stop me from wanting another go.

I don’t want to pretend I entered the pool, tried scuba once and suddenly became completely fearless. I’m still learning, and I want more practice.

But now, when I think about diving, I have something beyond the idea of it.

I’ve tried it.

The Sea Story Is Coming

My next step is another pool practice.

More time to get familiar with the equipment and breathing underwater before moving on to the sea and working towards my diving certification.

I’m looking forward to that.

Someone close to me helped spark the interest. I made the decision to try. And now I want to keep going.

I’ve enjoyed waterfalls, beaches and swimming pools for years. There’s a whole experience beneath the surface that I’m only beginning to discover.

For now, I have a completion certificate, a photograph in a yellow mask and a beginner’s breathing story to laugh about. 😂🤿

There’s something else I’m looking forward to.

One day, I hope we’ll dive together—the person who sparked my interest and me, exploring underwater side by side.

I’d love to have photographs from that day. Both of us beneath the surface, sharing an experience I was once too nervous to try.

Beautiful moments to look back on together.

But first, another pool practice. I still have some learning to do before our underwater photo session. 😂🤿💙

Just here.
— Thana, Beyond The Horizon 🌅