by Rachel Tovar

Dressed in a black wetsuit from neck to ankle, with a large,  pink oxygen tank attached to a black vest, I descend slowly into the 24-foot pool. Cautiously, step by step, I descend deeper under the water. My ears ache as the water squeezes my head. The deeper I go, the harder my temples throb. I try to cover my ears, but my mask is in the way, and I knock my oxygen piece loose. Water fills my mouth.

While each individual’s first time underwater is different, water pressure is the same for everyone.

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus shortens to what most know as SCUBA. For every 33 feet underwater, the pressure increases times two. At sea level, 13 pounds per square inch surrounds the human head. The safe diving depth is 130 feet, which rounds up to 56 pounds of pressure per square inch on the human skull.

The Professional Association of Diving Instruction takes responsibility of certifying professional scuba divers like Mr. Manuel Tovar. Not only is scuba his passion, but it used to be his job in the military.

‘I’ve always wanted to do it, so I did,’ Tovar said. ‘In the end, it helped me out in the military. I worked Special [Operations] underwater.’

According to Tovar, these teams of scuba divers would swim to the bottom of the ocean off the shore of Guam and look for long, metal poles. These poles were long enough to be touched by submarines and were attached to mines. It was Tovar’s job to defuse them and come home alive.

For Ms. Beth Pike of The Dive Shop in Merriam, Kansas, her profession is much less stressful and much more satisfying. Pike’s PADI license states that not only is she allowed to scuba dive, but is able to teach others how to dive as well.

‘As professional divers, you already love to dive,’ Pike said. ‘And to be able to watch other people fall in love with it too, it’s just so gratifying. Scuba diving felt so natural to me. I loved it from the first time I took a breath [underwater]. I love being able to help people get to that point too.’

Pike has dived inside of sunken ships, off exotic islands, deep sea diving, at night, during the day, with schools of sharks, and even down a current with no way of stopping.

‘It’s the closest thing I think I can imagine to flying,’ Pike said. ‘Ever. It’s pure weightlessness. And even in the pool at [The Dive Shop], scuba is never something you can just get used to.’

Through a one day seminar called Discover Scuba, The Dive Shop offers clients a miniature lesson on the essentials of scuba diving, and two to three hours in the water.

Pike shares Tovar’s love of scuba diving and recommends anyone to try it.

‘If you like the water, being in the water, or any water sport at all, I highly recommend [scuba diving],’ Pike said. ‘It’s something you can’t experience anywhere else. Even if you just do it once, it’s something that will stay with you for the rest of your life.’