Scubasurero
I just recently become friends with the water about a year ago. I’m one of those kids who didn’t know how to swim until I became an adult. If it wasn’t for those swimming lessons by a renowned coach in Dumaguete City, I would still be afraid in the sea or in a pool.
I took this to a higher level, by scuba diving. We went to the dive center with a cause, to save the earth and look for trash under the sea.
The whole briefing made my stomach very sick. The dive master talked about losing air underwater and getting water with your facemask. I knew deep inside I wasn’t ready for this, but I was determined to go through it anyway.
Breathing underwater with a regulator was a no-brainer. It was the maneuvering that was difficult. I felt like my shoulders were not moving in the direction I wanted to go. I was surprised to see a lot of trash under the sea. It was sad to note that the fish are being invaded by “intruders” in their home. Once, my dive master had to pause to get rid of the many plastics caught in his scuba gear. It was heartbreaking. We are proud of our oceans but we are the ones destroying it.
I thought that environmental songs, movies and documentaries were exaggerating when they said that the ocean is filled with garbage. This time, I saw it with my own eyes. I just started a zero-waste lifestyle but somehow I feel this isn’t enough. There is so much more to do.
As I swam back up to the surface, I gave my colleagues a high-five for the small achievement made. About three netbags filled with trash emerged out of the water. If one of us can gather about the same amount a day, then I wonder what Mother Earth would say. It is true that our oceans and many of our islands need some major rehabilitation, we are facing an environmental challenge. Today is the best time to make things right.
I don’t know when I will be going back for another dive or when I will see my fish friends again. My hope now is that more people will realize that the more plastics they use, the more it destroys the God-given beauty in nature. We don’t need to all be scubasureros to be called an eco-warrior; we need to be all-out in this fight against single-use plastics and too much unnecessary electricity. It will be a long shot home, but like me and many others who believe that there is hope, something can always be done.
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