The idiomatic expression, “like shooting fish in a barrel..” did not quite apply to me when it comes to deep diving.
When I saw Kim Ybanez’s post earlier about a lovely aura and a spectacular view of a Marine ecosystem, I was so happy seeing him underwater. He had so many deep-diving experiences from Moalboal to Siquijor, and then later in Lapu-Lapu City.
But did you know that I do not know how to swim? How much more when it comes to deep diving? I admit that this is one thing I am weak at and I told him how I love to have a picture underwater. He then replied to me that he was thinking that it was all easy but it is more of a technical kind of stuff to have the best pose underwater.
And so, I answered him that since I was younger, I never experienced it and only had an aquarium experience at the famous Ocean Park in the Philippines.
Perhaps it made me remember how excited I was during my first aquarium experience when I felt I was diving with the fishes that I see at the oceanarium and captured a priceless moment.
At the age of five, we often go to open beaches, free of charge, with no entrance together with my family. I remember back then my mother bought me swimming wears and stuff and my uncle taught me how to swim.
He trained us to swim with my brother, late sister, and cousins but I find it hard to swim so well although I could just float in the water. I was so slow and weak at it and it seemed everybody in the family knew already except for me.
He also bought me a lifesaver so I could enjoy myself with all of them since they all gained swimming skills and at that particular moment, I failed.
At the age of 11, I was in Grade Six, still, my uncle and all of them taught me over and over again to swim when we would spend our weekends in a beach resort, where he taught me how to float on the water. I did not know how to and it was so tough for me.
I would let myself shrink on the water so I will not be afraid to try once more. My childhood consisted of happy memories during swimming although I am not skilled in swimming. I enjoyed it even when I almost drown.
As I grew older I never felt the need to swim. But today with my encounter with a spectacular deep diving view and amazing deep diving, I wish I was a diver.
I wish to try gaining the confidence to relearn swimming and learn deep diving.
Yes, I wish I was a diver when my body is ready, too since I had been through a medial cuneiform fracture which made me hard to move and enjoy some things in life. Things get hard since I experienced the accident many months ago, however, here I am fighting for life and always on the go despite the down on my luck.
I may have tried swimming every time I go to beaches, pools, and resorts, but still learning how to swim was hard for me. And yet, I have not tried deep diving in 30 years.
But I am thankful because I still have my family, and my uncle to teach me like it was yesterday although he is now getting older. Now I need to learn how to do this only if I can.
I firmly believe it is never too late to learn how to swim and dive. And that, I wish I was a diver literally and figuratively.
Disclaimer: All texts and pictures are my own unless otherwise stated.