Ciara's story

By Ciara

On a cold Friday in February, my family and friends thought I was going crazy. Instead of bundling up and looking for a hat and scarf, I was tearing apart my house looking for a swimsuit. After being out of the water for a year and a half, I was headed to a Discover Scuba. On the way there, I ran through everything I had learned in my mind. Keep breathing, be safe, be aware of other divers and people—all things that had been planted in my brain by the careful instruction of Jim Elliot and my dive buddies. Arriving at the pool, I was nervous, but I had no reason to be. After a quick brush up, I was diving as if I’d been in the water everyday since my last trip to Key Largo.

A few short weeks later, my friends and family were again calling me crazy. I was going to get my HSA buddy certification. One of my friends didn’t understand why I would bother. I was able to scuba dive with my PADI certification, and I didn’t have much free time to begin with. Why "waste" a weekend that could be spent studying for tests, or with friends? This friend wasn’t a scuba diver, however, and so didn’t fully understand the motivation.

Diveheart has given me so much confidence. On my first diving trip, I was shy and timid. Being extremely nervous, my friends, who were also on the trip, calmed me down before my first dive. After just a few minutes, I was having an amazing experience. I was weightless, watching the fish swim by. My dive buddy smiled as I investigated the breathtaking world beneath the water’s surface. When we had to return to the boat, I couldn’t wait until our next dive! Judging by my cautious nature, the chaperones from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago didn’t want to let me know that, on the last day, we would be doing a shark dive. If they had told me that there would be a shark dive before sending me on the trip, I doubt I would have gone at all. I wasn’t forced to do the dive, but to everyone’s surprise, I jumped in the water, excited that I was going to actually touch a shark. When it was my turn, I kissed the shark! I think that my friends nearly fell over; they had never seen me with so much confidence.

The confidence didn’t stop there. When I got home, I wanted to tell everyone about what I had done. Some of my friends didn’t believe me, but I had pictures to prove it! I told everyone, branching out of my circle of friends and meeting new people. I wanted to try new things, and knew that I could do anything. After all, I had kissed a SHARK. I was sure that I could handle anything. I had always been active in swimming and basketball, but my coaches said that something changed. I played basketball with an attitude my coach had never seen from me, I even made it into the All-Star game.

That’s the amazing aspect of Diveheart. It helps people become the best possible person that they can be. Diveheart had a huge impact on my life. I saw the change that occurred within other participants as well. The determination that is shown on Diveheart trips is inspirational. At our closing dinner, volunteers and dive buddies kept saying that we were amazing. To some extent, I think we understood them, and they understood us. We struggled, and they saw us battling waves and the current. When we succeeded, they saw the pure joy on our faces, and we saw how proud they were of us.

After being a participant for three years, I decided that it wasn’t enough. I loved diving and what Diveheart stood for, and now I wanted to help. So, I emailed around and asked what I could do. I was given a project: emailing radio stations to inform people about Diveheart and any upcoming events. When I complete my HSA Buddy certification, I'll become one of the dive buddies that I have admired. As I have become more and more involved with Diveheart, I have had the opportunity of not only having my own life changed, but also helping to change the lives of others.

So to my friend that didn't understand why I would "waste" my time, I said this. Every minute that I spend with Diveheart is a minute invested in giving back to others what Diveheart has given to me. I only hope that one day I can help change someone's life in the same way that Diveheart has changed mine.