The first day of open water scuba certification I was paired up with
a guy in his forties that didn't want to be my partner. Our first
test was a snorkel swim out around a buoy and back which was supposed
to be easy but somehow my partner got confused and told me that we
were supposed to keep our weights on. I was in trouble immediately.
It was all I could do to keep my head above water and my partner was
no better off. I didn't understand how everyone else was cruising
the hundred yards out to the marker and back while we were only
halfway and I was just trying to stay alive. When we finally rounded
the buoy I was really tempted to drop my weights but I fought through
dipping my snorkel into the water over and over and getting that near
death adrenal rush. I was so proud that I stuck it out and made it to
the end as I stumbled up onto the bank. My dive instructor saw that I
had my weights on and asked me why the hell I was wearing my weights
and I told him my partner told me to wear them. He laughed at us and
said that he was wondering why we were taking three times longer than
the others. I felt like my life and death struggle was being
trivialized when he laughed at me and got my feel-bads hurt. Jerk.
