Becoming a Scuba Instructor
by Liby Glister
It may sound kind of cliché, a young individual that felt as though she didn’t really have that sense of purpose. I tried my hardest to find it, Professional Dance College, a degree course at University, Hotel management, a teaching assistant. Which Id enjoy but then I’d come straight back down to reality.
I know what you’re all saying right now “you’re so young still, you have plenty of time to figure it out” or “the best people I know didn’t figure it out till later in life.” Okay ,yes that actually does make me feel a little better however it’s very frustrating when all your friends are in their second year of studying what they love and are passionate about. I think that’s the most frustrating part, not having a passion. Meanwhile I’m trying to work out if there is something that’s even slightly bearable just so my parents would stop bugging me about not doing anything with my life!
If I were to be completely honest, I have never felt very motivated or really tried that hard to become passionate about something. Which when I think about it is kind of sad…
School should teach us that there are many different career paths and that we should be motivated no matter what we choose. We shouldn’t be put down by what biology diagram we have trouble labelling or what maths exam we took three times to pass. That’s the way I’ve been made to feel the entirety of my time at secondary school. “Liby youll never understand it, stop trying.” That’s literally what almost every single one of my teachers told me in the most crucial years of school. Or what, at the time, seemed like the most crucial because we are so pressured to work towards university and a degree.
I’d get so upset by the end of the day because I just felt so useless and belittled and like I wasn’t and never would be any good at anything. After a while I gave up trying because I figured I’d never understand it anyway, right? For me to give up so early in life because of how my education system made me feel is really quite soul destroying. And even now I lack so much self-confidence and I’m never really sure if I’ve done something right, all because I had teachers that were there for themselves and not their students.
I am now a Padi scuba instructor! During my scuba development I finally had teachers that were passionate and that gave me a fun educational experience. It is so inspiring to be around individuals that enjoy what they are doing and have a genuine love for the ocean. Diving is such a great activity in that it brings people from all over the world together to share an underwater experience.
I became an instructor at the best IDC Centre in Costa Rica! I now live in a tropical paradise and I spend every morning under the water with people from all different walks of life. Better yet i get to introduce the underwater world to my students and understand how important it is they have a positive and fun dive experience.
To conclude the first part to my series of ‘Becoming a Scuba Instructor blogs`, of which I expect shall be three parts. I was challenged to write this and share my experience of becoming an instructor; to just type it all at once wouldn’t give it justice. So stay tuned for upcoming blogs and I hope that I can encourage you to join the underwater community!