I sat in the rocking boat, clad in my wetsuit with my oxygen tanks heavy on my back. I slipped my goggles over my eyes and shuffled a little further to the edge of the boat, my flippers slapping clumsily together as my feet knocked together.

I took a breath, the crisp, salty air filling my lungs before I plugged my mouth with my breathing apparatus and let myself fall backwards.

I felt the slap of the water against the back of my body as I hit the water, soon replaced by the sensation of thousands of tiny air bubbles brushing against me and obscuring my vision. I turned myself and began to descend from the beautiful turquoise waters at the surface of the ocean to the deep azure of the lower waters. I could see other divers to my left, sticking together and signing to each other, trying to plan out a route of interest.

I smile inwardly and begin to descend alone to the rocky formations below. With the water slipping through my fingers and the sound of my heartbeat in my ears.