Become An Assistant Instructor
That year was full of twists. Travel reopened at the beginning of the year, then the pandemic interrupted the plan and pushed overseas training far away again.
A suitable domestic training and exam location finally appeared. I followed Dandan again. The exam was difficult and I nearly fainted, but I passed every required subject and received the AIDA4 certificate, officially becoming an assistant instructor.
The milestone was built as much around preparation as depth: packing long fins and training equipment, listening closely during briefings, and learning to treat safety and communication as part of the practice itself.
Step Up
Unexpected events delayed this step for a full year. Plans kept being cancelled and postponed, but I do not give up easily when something matters.
If one attempt does not work, try again. If two do not work, try a third and a fourth. In the first weekend of August, the plan finally happened. I am grateful to coach Dandan, whose patient teaching and encouragement gave me real momentum.
The best way to achieve something may be to forget the target itself and sink completely into the process. The test conditions were not ideal, with only one to two meters of visibility, but I reached 25.1 meters on one breath and passed every AIDA3 requirement.
Regular Weekly Training
The diving pool at Oriental Sports Center was almost ideal. On weekdays there were few other people training, so it often felt like having the whole pool to myself.
Weekly training was still difficult because of time and cost. I am grateful to Adam, my remote coach and Australian champion, for technical suggestions and mental coaching: forget the target and enjoy every second of the process.
Seen from below, the training space changed scale completely. The line, the surface light, and the quiet figure descending through blue water made concentration visible.
The Days Around Training
A training day began before the water: carrying the long equipment case across the city, arriving a little early, and letting the noise of the day settle before the first breath hold.
Underwater, even a familiar pool felt newly spacious. The rope offered a simple direction while light, rock, and silence softened everything else. These quieter moments became part of why I kept returning.
The Beginning of the Beginning
As a child, I longed for water and feared it at the same time. I kept trying but never learned to swim. At thirty, while traveling on the Sunshine Coast, I was pulled into deep water by the waves and eventually rescued by a lifeguard.
Those chaotic seconds planted a question about life and forced me to face my fear of water and death. At thirty-two, with help from an older friend, I learned to swim, but deep water still did not feel calm.
In 2018, at forty, I decided to face water as one of my post-forty projects. After two and a half days of panic, failure, quitting, and trying again, I finally reached sixteen meters on one breath and completed the requirements for AIDA2.
