Scubadoobadoo once bubbled...
It was in 20 ft of relatively calm water.... What's the big deal???
There are many out there who would eliminate or regulate out of existance, recreational activities which they consider too dangerous, such as scuba. Injuries or deaths, especially of those exceeding their training level, give them more ammunition to use when they try to impose new/more rules.
I've also seen and dove with too many (of course one is too many) divers who consider "training" to get a C card "useless" except they need a card to purchase gear and air fills. I'm a lot pickier about who I buddy with now.
Even on shallow wrecks, I've seen enough monofilament fishing line to cause major problems. Hard enough for an experienced diver to deal with in daylight. On my first night training dive, my instructors light flooded and failed (new light, it's 3rd dive) 2 minutes into the dive.
I apologize if I read more into your post than you meant. To point out where I'm coming from, I've been certified a little less than a year, have complete 50 dives. In those 50, I've had one buddy whose reg free flowed on our second dive at 51 feet. One whose mask strap broke at 30 feet. The light flood/failure on my first night dive. A buddy who didn't keep an eye on me when descending and when I paused with a minor equalizing problem rapidly disappeared out of sight. I ascended to the surface and he showed up a couple of minutes later and asked what happened. And my mask kicked off by a diver who descended on top of me (another buddy pair). So while most dives were calm and uneventful, problems do occur and even in 20 feet, I don't think a person 2 dives after their open water is ready for night diving. I will also readily admit that my outlook has been affected by my training. The LDS I trained with, will NOT let you take your advanced until you've logged 12 to 15 dives after your OW and can demonstrate good bouyancy control.
<rant off>
Anyway, welcome to the underwater world. Please do enjoy yourself, but safety first. Above or below the surface, water does not give second chances if you don't get it right the first time.