master00sniper
I am not sure how old you are, but I am going to guess from your posts that you must be in your early twenty’s. I am not so old that I don’t clearly recall that period of my life. I know that when I was that age me and my close friends were bullet proof. We would do or try anything for a rush. From cars to skiing to surfing and diving. The higher, faster, deeper or what ever was needed to get that feeling. Then one day I woke up and found my Kryptonite. It was called middle age. I had work, home, family and children that were my responsibility. I was lucky, I made it there. Some of my friends weren’t so lucky.
I know that people your age don’t like being told what to do. I never did at that age either. Do understand that most of what these people are telling you is in the hope that you will not make a mistake and become one of the unlucky ones. Everyone has their idea of how best to try and get that point across. Some methods you will respond to better than others. We can all see that in the way some of these posts are being traded back and forth. But the message is pretty much all the same.
You are exactly right. I am 21, and just barely that. I too enjoy the rush. Wakeboarding, Diving, Climbing, definitely cars. Had some fun times racing cars.
Getting told what to do isn't fun. Basically nobody likes being told what to do. That isn't my point entirely. Most of the people I've communicated with on here, like yourself, come across knowledgeable, polite, and to the point. You made a connection then gave me your point. I read your post, and while it may not be a popular point amongst people my age, I see legit knowledge and slight concern.
Perhaps you may read an exchange between myself and DevonDiver, and think that while more arrogant than others he's just concerned for my well being. I do not think this is the case. While nobody enjoys seeing threads pop up in the A&I section, I legitimately believe he would like to see a thread about me in this section. It would actually make him right. Every time he has told me I was gonna kill myself in other areas of the forum, it would come true. He could use this as an example to all his students, why nobody should think differently than he does.
He writes, somewhere behind this post, that he didn't want to change my mind, rather use me as a lesson. You cannot use me as a lesson so long as I am like the 40% of other solo divers in here. Else he would be using them as a lesson as well. One that has no point, because they are all still alive and diving.
Everyone else got the their point across, some of whom had the same point, and I read every word. Ultimately my opinion changed. Yet he has not recognized that. Perhaps he still thinks my change in opinion is still wayyyyy too unsafe. I'd venture to guess that he doesn't want my opinion to change. If I remain the cocky young new diver, obviously I am more likely to be dismissed in these forums, and more likely to have an accident, whether it ultimately is 'likely' or not.
This is what I see from him, and this is why I originally responded to his posts without applying my brain to forum filter. I'm doing a little of that now, but only because I've had a chat with a couple mods. To everyone else, I try to apply a good amount of respect to my posts, which is very hard for me to do when I am upset.
He assumes that I came here for praise. He assumes that I'm here to contribute something. He is right in the sense that I have nothing to contribute. Other than telling you who I am, the only things I believe I have really contributed are my experiences as a new diver, and my experiences on 3 easy solo dives. I did not come here thinking everyone would respect me and praise me. If you trace this whole solo conversation back to its very early roots, you'll find I was looking for knowledge. That is why I came here, and I have received an immense amount of it, from a lot of different people and I appreciate each and every one of you. I can see how I may have appeared arrogant, but really I was just confident. It's always been my thing to take on something new and adapt to it quickly. I've apologized for appearing arrogant in the beginning, to those of you who thought that.
Besides all that, the snide comments just get annoying. I mean you can be stern and prove the point that I'm new and your experienced without telling me I'm a joke, telling me i'm pretending to be something i'm not trying to pretend to be, telling me i've been an ass (which if i was, I have apologized for it), and telling me i'm acting like a spoiled child right?
