So why did you do it?

[TSandM]

I was shamed into it.

I drank more Pinot Noir than was good for me at a college benefit auction, and bought a trip to Australia. My long-suffering husband just shook his head, and in the car on the way home, he said, "Well, if we are going to go to Australia, you are going to HAVE to learn to dive." So I did.

I figured it'd be fun to float around in warm, clear water (and it is), but I had no intention of ever getting in Puget Sound. Almost two hundred cold water dives later, I'm still not always sure why I do that to myself

 

[ClayJar]

There are many things I've always thought would be fun if I ever got around to them. Diving was one, but I honestly didn't think I'd get around to it that soon. Then one Tuesday night, I was eating with J. and her parents, and she mentioned they were starting a class... that Thursday! I had almost 48 hours notice that "around to it" had arrived.

J. and I went on one three-dive springs-and-jetty trip Memorial Day weekend, and as she's teaching English in Japan right now (I'm typing this from her apartment while visiting, yipee!), that's about all the diving she's had so far. Meanwhile, back in the States, I've added NAUI AOW/Rescue/Master, CPR/First Aid, DAN O2, and a selection of other courses and knowledge, and I've had lots of dives (now with a drysuit, even).

While I've got lots of diving and learning to go before I get there, I'm working in the direction of instructor (with the idea that I'd like to eventually be able to teach some people like myself, i.e. people who want to know all the math and science). As helping others is what I enjoy most, you could say that is my motivation for continuing to become a better diver (apart from the inherent awe that being underwater evokes in a hopeless romantic such as myself).

 

[Crawl79]

I always wanted to learn but for most of my life I just couldn't afford to learn. Then I got a really great job where I could afford it but with all the travel I didn't have the time. ExGF went off to the Carib for Vet school so I said what the heck no use working so hard if I don't have time to play. Now I work so I can dive and love it. Diving has changed my whole lifestyle. I am right now sitting in my new apartment in Brasil preparing for a couple of dives tomorrow morning which will be my first dives with my new UW camera. I can't wait....

 

[scarefaceDM]

I got into it because ---ok forget that...The hot chicks man...have ya seen how sexy women are in a wet suit!!!!! and in warmer water...Women divi in skimpy bikini's..nothin like it...DM's have more fun!....it is all about the ladies... and of course the cool gear. Oh yeah and all the other stuff....expolring the underwater world etc...Sea hunt, Oceans alive, Jack Couteau,,,,and driving a cool dive boat!

 

[diverdownAg]

Because the voices in my head tell me to. :14:

 

[Doc]

Hot chicks in rubber suits

 

[shoredivr]

I grew up with Jacques Cousteau on TV and in National Geographic. It looked so cool. I made a diorama model of the Red Sea habitat that Cousteau orchestrated when I was in Grade 5/6.
I snorkelled lots and was comfortable with it.
When I was about to turn 40, I passed a sandwich board for a scuba store on a main street in Toronto and thought: if you want to dive, you'd better learn NOW or you'll regret letting this pass you by. That was almost nine years ago and I'm still dive obsessed, cold water or warm water.
I love the gear, the gearing up, the sound that tanks make when they ring like bells, the smell of neoprene in the morning, the charge card bills, the bruises on my shins after getting hit by a boat ladder, planning a dive, taking new courses, seeing new wrecks,....

 

[Alex777]

i've thought about this and ... you know what? Peer pressure.

It was peer pressure that got me into diving, pure and simple. I hated being the only guy in the group who didn't dive.

Most people would say you should never take up any potentially dangerous activity because of peer pressure. In fact, it's "wrong" for divers to pressure their non-diving friends, etc. All I can say is: I'm darn glad I felt pressured and gave in. And now, I don't mind exerting a little peer pressure of my own on non-diving friends & acquaintances.

 

[chipwd]

I've snorkeled for years and years and never quite took that "next step" until I made some new boating friends who are also divers. The rest, as they say, is history.

Wish I did it years ago but I'm making up for lost time.

 

[diverdiane]

July of 05 I was driving past my LDS and saw the "learn to SCUBA" sign and thought "I always wanted to do that". Suddenly realized there was nothing keeping from doing it. One month later I was certified. I the past 18 months I have been lucky enough to dive Aruba, Bonaire, Curacoe, Maui, Lanai, Belize and Aruba again. Life is good!!!!