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I'll simply reinforce what others have said...

Trim, buoyancy. and frog kick. Watch videos of cave divers, you will get far better examples of proper orientation and technique there than anywhere else.
 
To reiterate what a couple of other folks have already said...Master buoyancy control and trim. Be able to do your basic skills (e.g. mask clearing) while hovering neutral. Once you get this down, everything else will become effortless.

Oh, and for gear.... don't buy a "gear package deal." Talk to other divers, try things, see what you like, and make your purchases carefully and deliberately. Otherwise, you'll end up selling a bunch of stuff that you quickly realize you don't need. Along those lines, you don't need a lot of gizmos (e.g. console retractor, shark killer dive knife, etc.), keep it simple.
 
Something I did right? I hooked up with local divers, figured out the divers who warranted being mentors, and watched them. Learned to frog kick by watching them. Learned a TON just by watching.

Something I did wrong? First gear purchase. I knew to get a solid cod water reg. I completely regretted the jacket BCD, but I made do with it for a decade or so. The issue? I bought the gear before I hade a solid understanding of the kind of diving that I would end up being attracted to.

Biggest regret? Not getting into tec sooner. When my daughter was young and showing an interest in getting into diving, I opted to put off tec training in favour of diving with my daughter who was going to be depth-limited as a junior diver for a few years. I love diving with her, but I now realize that I could have and should have done both instead of delaying tec for so long.
 
What I wish I had done differently; Selecting the dive shop and more importantly the instructor I took OW from. I didn’t know any better but the group was too large and most of the time was spent on my knees sitting at the bottom of the pool or Puget Sound waiting my turn.

I don’t think it matters what agency but wish I was in a smaller group spending my time actually practicing skills rather than shivering on the bottom from lack of movement. I took AOW from the same agency but didn’t finish because I realized what a waste of time it was.

What I did right? I took AOW from a different agency with a great instructor and there were only two of us. I don’t think our knees ever touched the bottom except when attaching a lift bag to something laying on the bottom and I’m not sure we even did then. I also got a number of dives in before taking AOW. Some dive shops try to put you in AOW immediately after you complete OW.
 
There's a couple of recent threads that are closely related to this: What are things you wish you could tell your past self? and What are things you wish you could tell your past self (SCUBA RELATED)?

- Start with a BP/W (large SS) with basic harness.
- Always bring some Benadryl on dive trips (I had an allergic skin reaction to something on a trip once that made for a really miserable few days until I was able to get some Benadryl)
- If you are going to buy tanks for single tank diving, get HP100s (not AL80s).
 
Be painfully honest about whatever you don't know or are unsure of, and ask someone who does. Learning as a new diver is not the time to try to save face.

Become friendly with your rear dump valve, it will help you get "negative" so you can descend from the surface, starting when you're horizontal and more so when you're angled head-down (e.g. on a boat's anchor line that's tied into that wreck).

Make those first few dives as "un-challenging" a venue as you can--not too deep, not much current, decent visibility, not too cold. These "boring" dives (actually no dive is boring, but anyway), it will be easier for you to snag a buddy who is better than you (which at the beginning, means all of them). That better diver will be more willing to buddy with you if the dive isn't that "special" or challenging, because he/she isn't "giving up" that much if they have concentrate more on you more than on their own wishes or ambitions.

Believe your gauges. They are right. Especially your compass if you're in poor visibility. Practice with your compass on shore. If you're doing an "out and back" dive pattern, look back occasionally on the way "out", so you'll know better what it's going to look like on the way back "home" to the up-line.

Remember the wisdom phrases from class: "If you can breathe, you can solve all your other problems", and when you want to panic over something, "Stop. Breathe. Think. Act". That way, if you get into a bad fix (reg and mask knocked askew, negative buoyancy, disorientation, darkness), your first voice won't be "oh no I'm done for", but rather, "wait---we covered this in class". (i shall not go into detail as to how I know this ;-)


Farther down the road.. once you've gotten some experience from those unselfish more-experienced buddies who were willing to bring you along, remember to be like them when it's your turn with a newbie. Pay it forward when you can.

Best wishes.
 
Dive as regularly as possible after the OW course and don't be surprised when you regularly think "why wasn't I told that in the course?". Unless you're in a special situation, most courses today are minimal hours compared to like 40 years ago. They cover the basics in the time allotted.
For a buddy, seek someone who is experienced, preferably Rescue Diver certified. That's not always possible. If buddying with a fellow newbie take it slowly, including increasing your depth.
 
lots of good advise above.

i would add that i wish i had been able to get serious about diving sooner. i did get certified when i was in my early 20's but was unable to really dive into it (sorry i had to say it haha) until i was in my 40's. so if you end up really enjoying the sport and want to pursue it seriously, then do not put it off. do it now. for me it is too late to ever achieve what i really wanted.

i also regret not learning more about how the equip actually functions and how to repair it myself. i am referring to regulators mostly. early on it did not even occur to me that divers could learn to service their own regs etc. i did at one point try to get involved in the service end of things at my local shop but it turned out to be a waste of my time, money, and energy. and i did not really learn anything. it is a long story. but i was sorry it did not pan out.

i would also suggest you keep a detailed log book. not only to track your number of dives, along with depths, and time, but also for a record of all the cool things you experienced. i am glad i did this. treat it like a diving diary. of course it also has a more practical purpose too. you can keep a record of how much weight you used in fresh water vs salt for example, with what type of tank, which wet suit etc. this will serve you well down the road.

welcome to the club !!
 
Two things jump out at me when I watch other divers in the water: hand finning and overweighted divers.

Hand finning is a crutch that generally doesn't work. It doesn't propel you very much in any direction, but because you're finning like crazy you THINK it works, even as as you're bumping into overhanging coral and other people. Make every effort not to do it.

Second, when we get on a dive boat I listen to how much lead each diver requests (I'm nosey). Folks in rash guards will ask for 20 pounds of lead and I think "well, people DO have different body composition so I guess it's possible they truly NEED 20 pounds" - but usually, they're simply overweighted. Then I watch them after we all jump in the water and they drop like rocks to the bottom, only to add air to their BC - and then vent air - and then add air - and then vent air - and they're back on the boat 20 minutes earlier than they need to be because they had to use all that air to control their buoyancy.

Keep in mind that when you jump in the water in a DRY wetsuit it will be more floaty (buoyant). Once it's soaked, it will sink more easily. So if you're properly weighted you might actually have to swim down on that first dive in a dry wetsuit - and even if it feels chilly, pull the neck away from your body to let water into your wetsuit - it really helps. If you can't keep your safety stop then yes, you may be underweighted. But too many folks are WAY too overweighted and it makes it more difficult for them to maintain proper buoyancy during the dive - and then drag their fins or run into the bottom and damage the reef.

Btw, even when I'm OVER weighted, I still have to swim around during my safety stop to stay at the magic 15-20 feet. I think it's part of me being a fidgety person and getting distracted by looking at tiny jellyfish, etc. Also, while I carry 10 pounds of lead wearing my 5 mil, my husband only carries 6 or 8 - I'm 5' 1" and about 125 pounds, and he's 5' 11" and about 180. I think he has a lead core. Truly, our body composition makes a difference. So when people tell you to take your body weight and use a certain percentage for salt or fresh water - you're still going to need to experiment to see what works for you.

Oh, and occasionally turn your head to see how much sand you're kicking up behind you. You'll be surprised that even when your fin tips are 6 feet off the bottom you're STILL swirling sand around. If you can learn a frog kick, or at least learn to stay a bit more horizontal rather than vertical, it will help a great deal. There are teeeeeeny little critters down there that your fin tips are disturbing, not to mention you might be disrupting someone else's viz.
 
Get in with the local community and go diving A LOT. You can do all the certs, read all the books and forum arguments, but nothing beats time in the water practicing your skills and observing new amazing sea creatures.
 
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