Scuba Diva: August 2014

Wednesday, 13 August 2014

Ever felt like you were put here for a reason?

I suppose that I’ve never felt like I belong anywhere. Not in the stereotypical misfit sense, I mean I had friends, I was reasonably popular, I grew up in a nice area, but in terms of a sense of attachment to something. When I had my first real experiences with the ocean; catching my first wave and exploring the underwater world I suddenly felt like I had discovered the reason I had been put here. I finally found a place that I did belong: in the ocean.

There is something indescribable about the feeling I get when I’m in the ocean; I feel so lost and yet so found, so vulnerable and yet so powerful and so engulfed and yet so free. I feel ALIVE. There is nothing quite like it. Being underwater is like being in another world, one which provides you with a chance to escape the stoic reverie we call human existence and just live.

All I know is I am nothing out of the ocean and I lost myself at sea. Don’t find me; don’t try to find me. I am free.

I have the dream job. I’m travel the world scuba diving different oceans and I am currently living on a beautiful island in the middle of the Atlantic, 900 miles from the nearest land mass. I get paid to scuba dive 3 times a day, whilst exploring shipwrecks and stunning reefs.

I wake up every day knowing that I’m incredibly lucky, however a lot of people tell me that I am lucky to be doing my job, but as Samuel Goldwyn once said; “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

Sunday, 10 August 2014

“Love the life you live. Live the life you love.” Bob Marley

“Honey, this girl has travelled the world teaching people to scuba dive and she is only 24!” Said a lady to her husband as she was asking me about my life to date on the dive boat. It made me re-evaluate how I view my life and realise that perhaps I take for granted and am slightly dismissive of something which is actually an achievement I should be proud of.

Kefalonia

I have never been the kind of girl who is happy with what she has, I have always wanted to learn more, dream bigger and travel further. People who are content to live and stay in their hometown their whole lives and never see anywhere else absolutely terrify me. This is an alien concept that I just cannot comprehend; I couldn't imagine a more suffocating way of life. Being half Greek, as a child I had 2 countries that I could call home and I think this may have introduced the concept of travelling to me from a very young age. By the age of 24 I have been to 5 continents, over 20 countries and lived/worked in 5.

Bermuda

One of the most important things I have learned whilst travelling, which finally dawned on me like a jaw dropping epiphany, was that material things are not what create happiness. By traveling I realised I no longer had to conform to societal routine and be the stereotypical material girl living in a material world, there were so many more important things to life. Now I happily live out of a suitcase because I know that I can easily live with less and it is a liberating feeling to sacrifice superficial possessions for life altering experiences. I relish the chance to learn of new languages, cultures and customs that open my mind and redefine my values and perspective on life, leaving no room for prejudice.

Maldives

I now know the overwhelming feeling of uncertainty at leaving the comforts of home all too well, and the indeterminate ‘see you soon’ said to loved ones at the airport, and yet I head off through the departure gates filled with excitement not fear because I know the feeling of return. The goodbyes that seemed so hard at home soon dwindle in comparison to the goodbyes I face when I leave the latest destination I have fallen in love with. I know that I can always return home, but it is the uncertainty of ever returning to the latest location I have begun to call home that instils the feelings of dread, fear and gut wrenching emotions.

Maldives

I choose not to work like robot all day, spending my lunch break sitting at my office desk googling all the exotic destinations I dream of visiting one day, I seize the day and visit them now. I go out and take what life has to offer. I may have chosen a life of uncertainty and I don’t have a plan or a permanent address, but it is the best kind of life I can imagine living. I live my dreams and I go wherever the wind takes me.

Florida

Thursday, 7 August 2014

The Ocean

"The ocean never lets you down. It might surprise you, or frighten you, or challenge you, but it’s always there for you."

This quote summarises the overwhelming attachment I feel to the ocean. Regardless of where I am, what I'm doing or how I am feeling it is the only place I am guaranteed to find peace. It is and always will be, my happy place. I'm a mermaid, I spend more time in the water than I do out of it.

When I discovered free-diving I realised that there was another dimension to something I had already fallen so unconditionally in love with. When I went on and tried scuba diving for the first time I realised that it was my calling in life; spending time underwater felt so natural to me.

I suppose that I have always been a thrill seeker, I can remember when I was a child, I was the one launching myself down a death slide whilst other little girls looked on in absolute horror. I never really developed a sense of fear which has proven to be both a blessing and a curse.

Of those who take the plunge, most find that diving quickly becomes a lifelong addiction. These people learn to work in pencil: Their boundaries change daily.