From Mermaid Dreams to PADI Pro: How My Scuba Journey Began

They say you never forget your first breath underwater. For me, that moment happened when I was 14 years old, sitting in a sun-drenched hotel lobby in Cuba.

While most teenagers were interested in the hotel pool or the snack bar, I was thumbing through a travel magazine, mesmerised by two words: Scuba Diving. I’m not sure exactly what pulled me in. Maybe it was the mermaid fantasy I’d harboured since I was a little girl, wishing to wake up a mermaid every birthday, or maybe it was the mysterious allure of the Great Blue. What I did know was that I belonged in the water.

Back home in England, I was the kid who had to be dragged out of the sea until my skin was wrinkled like a prune and my face was blue with cold - but I’d always have a smile a mile wide. I was a decent swimmer, a water baby through and through. So, when I saw that diving was an option, I didn't just ask my dad if I could try it - I told him I was going to be a scuba diver.

A Journey Shared

At first, my dad thought it might be a holiday whim. But when he saw the look in my eyes, he did something better than just saying 'yes' - he signed up to do it with me.

And true to his word, when we got back home, we embarked on our PADI Open Water course together. It was the ultimate bonding experience, learning a secret language of hand signals and regulator clears, and doing something none of my friends was doing.

When that PADI certification card finally arrived, I felt a sense of pride I’d never experienced before. I wasn’t just a swimmer anymore; I was a scuba diver.

The Feeling of Total Freedom

There is a specific feeling you get when you descend. The noise of the world above - the chatter, the engines, the stress - simply evaporates. It is replaced by the rhythmic sound of your own breathing and the quiet crackle of the reef.

In the water, I feel free. I feel elegant. I feel like my truest, most authentic self.

From Passion to Profession

For a while, life happened, and when I realised I wouldn't get the GCSE's I needed for marine biology, diving moved to the background. But the ocean has always had a way of calling me back, and whilst backpacking in Thailand, I decided to do my Advanced, Rescue, and finally, my Divemaster. 

Today, as a PADI Professional, I look back at that 14-year-old girl in the Cuban hotel lobby and wish I could tell her where those first fins would take her.

Merging my love for travel with my passion for the deep blue has been a dream come true. I’ve realised that I am at my happiest when I’m submerged, and I’ve made a promise to myself: Even if life gets in the way, never let my love for the ocean stop - whatever form that takes. 

Jade x

🫧 What’s Your Origin Story?

Every diver has that one moment where the "bug" bit them. Was it a holiday try-dive? A documentary? Or have you always felt the pull of the water like I did?

Tell me your story in the comments - I’d love to hear how you started your journey!