9 Things That Will Convince You To Learn To Scuba Dive
Diving is freakin’ awesome. Like…really, really awesome. First of all you can breathe underwater, which makes you as close to a superhero as you’ll ever be. Second of all, you can do this activity all over this awesome planet of ours. And ninth of all? Well keep on reading.
By Jessica Vitorelo & Julie Kern
1. Relaxation, baby!
Let me explain a little something-something about us. We are hyper people. I mean bouncing off the walls, way too many cups of coffee, chatty-cathy, wanting to do it all, kind of people. However, diving seems to have this freakishly calming effect on us and we’ve heard rumors that we aren’t the only ones. There’s just something about being 30 meters deep and hearing only the sound of your breath that really soothes the soul. Swimming alongside schools of tropical fish and magical manta rays really helps with that ambiance too.
2. Marine life is fascinating!
While exploring new places on land is pretty cool, exploring an entirely new world under water seems to be a little cooler [and we’re not just talking temperature]. When you plop into the big blue, you are literally swimming into a world that you can’t see unless you have a tank of oxygen. From the tropical waters to the cold kelp beds, you will be wide eyed, and amazed at this entirely new underwater universe. Swimming alongside, above or below some of the world’s most crazy looking creatures is pure magic. We’re talking manta rays, sharks, whales, nemo, and alllll their amigos. Sometimes, we wonder if that school of bumphead parrotfish we saw in Indonesia is still floating by that one sea fan at that one dive site. If only we could do a “where are they now” series.
3. It’s a brand-spankin’ new vacation hobby.
Diving gives a whole new purpose to planning trips. When you start thinking about new vacation spots and can’t decide where to go, you can lean on diving as a major factor. Come on…it’s pretty hard to decide which tropical beach you want to go to this time, but now with your brand new past time you’ll have a darn good reason for where you pick. For example, want to do a ship wreck dive? Maybe now you’ll head to Egypt instead of the Caribbean. Want to swim between two continents? Maybe you’ll buy a flight to Iceland instead of mainland Europe.
4. You’ll learn a new language.
Believe it or not, diver’s have their very own special sign language! Since divers can’t speak underwater, they have come up with hand signals to communicate. Meaning that by the time you are done with your certification course, you will be fluent in a new language. Added bonus? These hand signals double as dance moves. At least for us…
5. Challenge yo’self!
Scuba diving comes with its own set of fears and skills to overcome. It can actually be a bit of a dangerous sport, so all the skill sets become very important for avoiding nasty things like collapsing your lungs and stuff. Don’t worry, everything from learning how to equalize your ears, to practicing safe ascension will become second nature, making you an expert in a whole new area.
6. Cool photos, duh!
While your friends and co-workers are back home staring at their computer screens, you’ll be making them jelly with your epic underwater captures. Who doesn’t love a good turtle shell-fie??
7. Be a rebel.
Ever wanted to defy gravity? Of course you have, you little rebel. Well, this is your dream come true. There is a skill that every diver has to master when they get scuba certified and it’s called neutral buoyancy. It is a state of being in the water where you find just the perfect amount of buoyancy that when you breath in, you actually float up and when you exhale you sink. When you achieve neutral buoyancy and float so effortlessly above the ocean floor, you are making Sir Isaac Newton roll over in his grave. Not gonna lie, it feels pret-ty cool to be able to control your body movement and float where you want to just by breathing.
8. Make new friends.
As with any hobby or sport, there is quite the community and by learning how to dive you become a part of that. No smart diver goes into the wild blue without a buddy, so it’s time to make some new friends!
9. It never gets boring.
With hundreds of thousands of dive sites scattered all over this magical world we call home, you will never get bored. Even if you are totally crazy and superhuman and dive every last site on planet earth, it still wouldn’t be boring. You know why? Because there truly is no constant except the physical location when it comes to a dive site. Weather conditions change, currents rise and fall, the seasons come and go. That just means that every single dive you ever do for the rest of your life will show you a new side of the big blue. Never boring and always exciting. How fucking cool is that? 
