Hi everyone,
I'm new to diving this year and have already built quite a passion for it. I've always been passionate about water sports (I was a whitewater rafting guide/trip leader and whitewater kayaker in Tennessee for 10 years before moving to Italy). Now that I'm no longer conveniently close to whitewater, I've taken up scuba diving - something I've always wanted to do. Living near Milan (I've been here since late 2015), not being close to the sea, I can't dive as much as I would like to go, but I see that changing in the future, whether by changing location or just going to Genoa as often as I can for now just to get some dives in. In the meantime, I'm trying to gain experience and knowledge as much as I can. I've already googled some questions and found some good discussions going on with this website, so I decided to join.
I'm the kind of person that really wants to become an expert at what I do and what I enjoy, and that includes all of the tiny details and pursuing/reaching the highest certifications that I can reach - while taking my time and making sure that I gain more than enough experience and I feel comfortable with the skills required for the next certification BEFORE trying, rather than just trying to build certifications without feeling natural and comfortable at that level underwater in a practical sense.
That said, the ultimate goal is a professional pursuit in scuba diving, for a lot of different reasons. I don't know where that road will lead just yet, hence me just trying to gain experience and knowledge as much as possible. I would eventually, over the course of some years I'm sure, like to be certified in technical diving, even if I never end up tech diving as a job. The idea of the complexity, the need for strict attention to detail and ability to adapt to changing situations, the research, planning, and knowledge required - plus the ability to go very, very deep to see some unique things you'd never see as a rec diver, along with the inherent risks to do so - all of those things are VERY attractive to me.
I've gone on long enough for now. I hope to talk to some of you via the forums, and I'm looking forward to a fun, exciting, and fulfilling future underwater.
Joe
I'm new to diving this year and have already built quite a passion for it. I've always been passionate about water sports (I was a whitewater rafting guide/trip leader and whitewater kayaker in Tennessee for 10 years before moving to Italy). Now that I'm no longer conveniently close to whitewater, I've taken up scuba diving - something I've always wanted to do. Living near Milan (I've been here since late 2015), not being close to the sea, I can't dive as much as I would like to go, but I see that changing in the future, whether by changing location or just going to Genoa as often as I can for now just to get some dives in. In the meantime, I'm trying to gain experience and knowledge as much as I can. I've already googled some questions and found some good discussions going on with this website, so I decided to join.
I'm the kind of person that really wants to become an expert at what I do and what I enjoy, and that includes all of the tiny details and pursuing/reaching the highest certifications that I can reach - while taking my time and making sure that I gain more than enough experience and I feel comfortable with the skills required for the next certification BEFORE trying, rather than just trying to build certifications without feeling natural and comfortable at that level underwater in a practical sense.
That said, the ultimate goal is a professional pursuit in scuba diving, for a lot of different reasons. I don't know where that road will lead just yet, hence me just trying to gain experience and knowledge as much as possible. I would eventually, over the course of some years I'm sure, like to be certified in technical diving, even if I never end up tech diving as a job. The idea of the complexity, the need for strict attention to detail and ability to adapt to changing situations, the research, planning, and knowledge required - plus the ability to go very, very deep to see some unique things you'd never see as a rec diver, along with the inherent risks to do so - all of those things are VERY attractive to me.
I've gone on long enough for now. I hope to talk to some of you via the forums, and I'm looking forward to a fun, exciting, and fulfilling future underwater.
Joe
