In the beginning stages of our social media endeavors we were contacted by a soon to be diver that had been captivated by our industry. She was eager to get certified and ready to move to a far-off location and live the dive-life. As life tends to get in the way, her travels were postponed.
Now, just shy of 3 years and an Open Water Diver Course later, Mandy has packed up and moved to Roatan, Honduras. She will be featured on our blog as regularly as she can get internet connection. And through her stories, we will hear first hand how the scuba diving industry can transform lives.
To give you a little history on Mandy’s story, we are re-posting some of her personal blogs going back to decision day.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Realization
I arrived at Pearson International Airport in Toronto at about 4pm August 12th, 2006. After a 6-hour delay and an 8-hour flight from Europe, my now fuzzy slippered teeth were in great need of a good toothbrush. I rummaged around my bag to find mint-flavored lip-gloss...that would have to do the trick for now. I collected my backpack from the conveyor belt and headed toward the exit. I pushed my way through the crowd of people waiting for loved ones and worked my way outside. There I was greeted with the sounds of car horns, people arguing over taxis and the stench of rotting pollution in the mushroom colored sky...*sigh* I'm home. After about an hour trying to find a cab that didn't want my first born in return for taking me home, I jumped into the backseat of a lovely town car and made myself comfortable. The ride home was horrendous. How is it possible to sit in traffic that doesn't move on a Saturday afternoon?? Where are all these people going? I closed my eyes and nodded off. I'm not sure what happened for the next couple of days...seemed a bit of a blur due to the fact that I was jet lagged and seemingly still hung-over from my vacation, however, I do know that a good teeth cleaning was had as soon as I got into my one bedroom apartment.
Monday morning...the worst of all days....I awoke to my screeching alarm clock and dragged my sorry butt out of bed at around 7:30am. As if in a trance, I got dressed, put my face on and trudged out the door. Not to my surprise I was greeted with an hour stuck in rush hour traffic. Once at work I moved to the kitchen like a zombie and poured my morning tea. To my desk I went...the chain was waiting. As I sat down I could see the chain from my desk wrap around my ankle and I swear I heard it say something to the effect of "Mwuh ha ha...I have you for another day" By about noon my morning caffeine buzz had worn off and I was daydreaming. How nice it was to be in Europe. They really know how to live. Here in North America you are lucky if you get 2 weeks vacation and you definitely live to work. I mean really, I do like my job and have been a graphic designer for about 10 years now. But as I looked around at the surrounding beige walls I had no idea whether it is sunny or if my car has been taken hostage by a tornado due to the lack of any windows. I am forced to wonder if there is something more... It was then that I realized something had to change...
Friday, September 08, 2006
The PLAN
After adjusting to jetlag and the ever so familiar monotony of my day job, it was time for a new plan. How could I find a job that would allow me to wake up every morning with the sun on my face and a skip in my step as I raced to work to start the day? I turned to the biggest source of information I could find...the internet. I Googled "jobs in the sun", "dream jobs" and various things of that sort on my lunch break. It was then that I stumbled onto the life of a scuba instructor! How perfect?! I mean, at first I would have to uproot myself from my life as I had known it and delve into something completely different. I won't lie, it was a scary thought. I mean, I'm 29 years old, my mother would have a heart attack when I told her and what would I do with my cat? I continued to research. It was then that I found the PADI website. They made diving sound like the dream that I wanted and something inside me fluttered with excitement. This was it. This was what I was going to do. Period. The plan consisted of the following:
1. Sign up for my Open Water course. I mean really, I should at least see if I like it before running into my boss screaming "I QUIT!"
2. Do my first open water dives in Dominican Republic on my Christmas holiday with my family.
3. Find an internship to work my way up to my PADI instructor’s certification
4. Pack my bags, sell my car, put my material things in storage, QUIT MY JOB, kiss rush hour traffic goodbye and head off to explore my new life.
Decision made. Now to put it in motion....