I found my calling!

Today I had one of the best days of my life :)  Not only did I cross off one of the items from my Bucket List, but I also found something that I might consider doing for a living.
My parents have always told me I was a water baby.  When I was a small child, I loved being close to the water.  I enjoyed it so much, that when I had to leave I would cry.  I also spent much of my time in the summers snorkelling in Okanagan Lake.  Even though it was just a lake, and I never encountered anything more exciting than a school of guppies, I still loved just looking around.  I also loved the feeling of being underwater.
Let me also mention, my favourite movie to this day is ‘The Little Mermaid’.  Yea, she was beautiful and got the prince and a fairytale ending, but what I could never understand was why she wanted to live on land.  I am sure that there where plenty of handsome, rich Mermen that she could fancy.  Not only that, but under the sea is better than anything they got up there.
Now, even though I do know all this about myself, when it comes to swimming, I am not a fan.  I don’t really enjoy being half out of water and half in it.  It seems very unnatural and for that reason I have never been a great swimmer.  That being said, when I finally had the opportunity to go diving, I was scared.  So instead, we opted for a snorkel trip.  In my mind I had decided that it would be a great way to get more acquainted with the ocean; besides, we don’t have loads of cash and in the end snorkelling was much cheaper.  So we got up early- well not really early but in island time 7:30am is early ;)  We got on a boat with our friend Lilli and our captain took us out for the day.  We spent the next 7 hours island hopping.  I saw so many species of coral and fish it blew my mind.  The ocean is a miracle- it is truly unfathomable.   Then it happened, I swam with my first SHARK, and I was in LOVE!  After seeing my first Black Tip Reef Shark, it was all about spotting more and more.  I ended up seeing loads of them, in all different sizes, and I think they could sense that I loved them.  They would come quite close and even swim with me at times.  This is a moment I will never forget.
The underwater world is so beautiful, I cannot put it into words.  I was in my element as I swam with schools of Barracudas (freaky), floated with glowing cuttlefish and watched in awe as large schools of brightly coloured fish seen by most in expensive aquariums moved out of the way of incoming sharks.  I struggled against strong currents, thankful for my strong running legs as the sea life whizzed past me without effort.  I made friends with a clownfish and watched as green specked sting rays hovered along the sea floor looking for food.
I was always the first one in the water and the last one out.  I think this is a sign- I am ready to dive.  Luckily, Dan and I will be visiting many coastal countries, with famed diving spots.  My next goal on our adventure will be to become a certified diver.  Who knows…. Maybe I can live on a tropical island and teach scuba for a living.  Don’t fret Mom- it is just an idea.