My Getaway Essay, Research Paper

Beauty, Tranquility, and having fun are all things that pull me back underwater every summer. Being deep underwater can calm my soul, letting me enjoy the wonderful scenes that only can be found under the rippling waves of the sea.

About two years ago; we were in the keys on the southern tip on Florida, and had just boarded a fairly homely dive boat for my first ocean dive ever. My Father and I had been planning this trip for months, and today was the day it would happen. As the sound of the motors choking to start came into my ears, and the smell of the gasoline seeped into my nostrils I imagined where we were going to be in an hour. We both glared at each other every few minutes as we scurried around the deck of the boat. The boat was cluttered with Scuba cylinders, Buoyancy Compensators, Regulators, dive lights, and my wetsuit, which I had just picked up.

I placed one leg in as I normally do, pulling that one up without much strain. Then did so with the other leg, feeling the neoprene start to grip onto my skin. When I went to put my upper body into the suit I could feel the neoprene stretching tightly around me, like a giant slowly encircling his fingers around me. I could not wait to get in the water to relieve its tension.

At that point I looked at what used to be the tiny dock from which we had departed fairly recently, but only saw the tiny outline of land on the horizon. Then I heard the divemaster yelling for us to put on the rest of our gear. The boat started rocking back and forth as the waves crashed into its side, and we prepared to enter the water. My Farther and I sat on the side of the boat, held on masks and regulators in place, and rolled back into the ocean.

As we made our decent in the crystal blue water I looked to where we would be visiting in a few moments and saw what looked like the Sahara Desert; only it was underwater. It had dunes shaped by the current of the Atlantic Ocean, just as the Sahara has dune shaped by the winds of Africa, amidst these dunes I saw a reef jutting out, still remaining even after the endless years of water swirling around it. We finally ended our decent to the seabed, which was some hundred feet below the surface. I looked up and could make out the outline of the boat’s bottom. This was to be a magnificent dive!

The first thing I came upon when I hovered above the reed was a beautiful Angelfish. It’s vibrant colors shining at me, enticing me to take a closer look. Golden yellows, deep and dark blacks, and warm blues were all over it’s body. Turning away from his gaze, I scanned the many crevices and crannies of the reef. Out of one of these holes I saw a lobster. It had its sharp, probing antenna poking out of its hideaway. I chose not to disturb it however, since I did not have a tickle stick and bag with me at the time; nor was it lobster season.

I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to the singsong rhyme of the air bubbles coming from our tanks. I exhaled slowly and listened to them flow from my mouth. Along with this sound I heard everyone else swimming around me slowly losing his or her thoughts to the reef’s serenity. I opened my eyes and exhaled once more, and watched as they floated to the top of the sea, just as carbonation from a drink would as you pour it into a cup.

I wanted to reach onto the reef and feel the different plants that were growing on it. However, I was reminded of our briefing at the dive boat where the divemaster told us to help keep the reefs healthy for other visitors by not touching what we saw. So I held the urge back.

With our oxygen running low, we decided we had better go back to the “normal” world. We made our slow, peaceful ascent up to the top just as we had gone down. I left all the tension I carried down at the bottom with the sea. So that the current could carry it away, and I could forget my troubles. Instead of those, my mind was now filled with all the sights and sounds of the dive.

We got back onto the boat; exhausted but enthralled in the conversations of what each person encountered during the dive. Everyone was joyous, not a sad or disappointed face on the boat. I am very glad I took up diving those long three years ago. It is a getaway for me and my family; and something that can take my mind off of anything and everything that might be wrong in my life or troubling me. Memories of everything one can encounter under the rippling waves of the ocean, or the mirrored surfaces of lakes and spring always fill my head. Without which it would sometimes be filled with the dread and sorrow that sometimes comes with everyday life at times.