Journey to Dive Instructing

From Island Life to Mountain Life and Back

Born on an island the daughter of a dive master and high school marine biology teacher, I was pretty much destined to be a water bug. My favorite pictures, stories, and memories of my childhood revolve around the coasts where I grew up: neighborhood swimming pools, boating and tubing, muddy river banks, jellyfish-laden bays, long, salty days by the sea, and crystal clear waters of a Caribbean family vacation. So of course I got dive certified when I was just 10-years-old. And in retrospect, of course I became a dive instructor, even though I definitely didn’t see it coming.

Building a career as a dive instructor certainly was not the plan when I took a scholarship for an engineering program and spent three wobbly semesters trying to survive university before telling my parents that I would not be continuing down that path. I remember inviting my dad to visit for a weekend, sitting him down in a book shop that doubled as a bar and café, and laying out my detailed plan - including the part about moving back in with him and my mom to save up some money, and excluding the part about how to tell my mom. We had to devise that plan together. Sorry, Mom - I definitely shouldn’t have emailed you! (big yikes.)

My mom wants what’s best for me, and I’m sure it didn’t sound like the best idea to drop out of university, move to Honduras (the original plan) by myself, and become a dive instructor. But I wanted to dive. I wanted to travel, to live abroad, to live simply, live happily, to prove to myself that I could forge my own way. I didn’t want to suffer through school just to have some prestigious degree that could potentially earn me some high-paying job that in turn could buy me big fancy things that ultimately I didn’t even want when I sat down to think about it. Sure, that life may be exactly what somebody else wants, and those motivators could be enough to propel someone else through the tumultuous times endured through engineering school or the likes. But that certainly wasn’t the life I dreamt of.

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Ultimately, my dad reasoned with my mom and we all agreed I’d go somewhere familiar. Grand Cayman had been a family dive vacation destination a few times before, and so I attended the Go Pro Cayman diving school in 2015. In 10 weeks, I earned my PADI Rescue Diver through Open Water Scuba Instructor and Emergency First Responder Instructor certifications, as well as some specialty instructor and IYT certifications. I felt so damn proud of all I had accomplished, and very eager to stay on the island to work, so I took the first job offer I got with a large, busy dive operator. But within a year, I already felt burnt out and began questioning if diving would be enough to fulfill me in the long run.

It quickly became apparent that I needed to make a change. Like many who become dive instructors, I dreamt of backpacking through Southeast Asia, or living and working in Australia, or immersing myself in the Spanish language somewhere in Central America. But none of that has happened yet (key word) because, like the passionate and spontaneous person I can be, I ended up falling in love with someone who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. His life was full of non-diving related, outdoorsy adventures, and I had never lived in the mountains before, so the choice to follow him and pursue our romance felt bold and exciting. I took the risk, abandoned my newfound dive career, and began again from a blank slate.

U T A H

The six years I spent in Salt Lake were an absolute whirlwind of discovering what’s most important to me in love and life. There was the chaos: I had a severely painful, long-term case of shingles and two shoulder dislocations; I moved nine times (including twice out of the state and back); I got married and divorced; and I spent a couple of years in therapy healing from both childhood trauma and recent events. Oh, and that whole global pandemic thing that we all went through…

And then there was the beauty: I met some of the most incredible people that I know will always be a part of my life; I worked at one of my favorite breweries where I learned the power of community (Fisher Beer, for all of you visiting Salt Lake City!!); I finished my undergraduate degree in something that I wanted to learn - Environmental and Sustainability Studies; and I explored so much (but also somehow so little?) of the camping, biking, hiking, climbing, rafting, backpacking, canyoneering and more that is made possible by the breathtaking wilderness of the American Southwest. I’m tearing up thinking about this unexpected place that now will always have my heart. It deserves a blog of its own.

Finally, in 2022 after one of my relatively regular visits to Grand Cayman, I returned to Salt Lake with a job offer in Cayman at the dive shop that 16-year-old me had once confidently announced she would work for one day. I couldn’t let her down. Plus, I had been feeling stuck in Salt Lake no matter what I tried, and as more and more friends were asking me why I didn’t work as a dive instructor again, I had to embrace my deepest truth: that I feel the most like myself when I get to be in, on, or near the ocean.

Every bone in my body was screaming “YES!” to this opportunity; I had to do whatever it took to make it happen. First, I ended a relationship that had been on the verge of ending anyway and sold most of my belongings, then savored every moment of my last few weeks with the people who made Salt Lake home. My community truly showed up for me, giving me the support I needed while everything fell so naturally into place. And I mean, so naturally. Almost effortlessly. As if life had rolled out a red carpet for me to walk full circle and return home.

Fisher Brewing, shot by Eric Hailes

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Now here I am, almost two years later, in love with the life I’ve built on this tiny Caribbean island, maximizing the time I have left. I don’t imagine I’ll be here much longer for a couple of reasons. First of all, the physical nature of this particular job is exhausting, and it’s taking a serious toll on my body. In a future post, I’ll share how I best maintain physical and mental balance as a dive professional. Secondly, and perhaps what’s driving me to look towards the future the most right now, is that I became a dive instructor so I could travel the world.

Returning to Cayman to work as a dive instructor provided me the chance to reconnect with this vision of a life abroad, but more importantly, it gave me the chance to believe in myself again. My strength comes from my passion for squeezing the most out of life. It’s what helps me find the courage to not settle for anything less than a hell-yes. It’s what led me to find the most genuine, fulfilling, and promising relationship that I never saw coming. Today, alongside my incredible partner who has an equal desire to live deeply, to thrive in life, and to travel the world, the possibilities for learning and adventuring feel endless.

Cayman, like Salt Lake, will always feel like home. I value my connection to this island, and am excited to share more about my memories, discoveries, and lifestyle here. This is where I’ve made peace with myself and where I’ve learnt so much not only about myself, but also from others who’ve landed here as well. Stories of life from friends, coworkers, and customers inspire me, even under the pressure of my demanding job, to pursue what makes me happy now, not later. To pursue deeper, meaningful connections to friends and family that keep me grounded wherever I am in the world. To pursue ambitions and adventures that make me feel excited to wake up in the mornings and fulfilled when I go to bed at night. It’s a life that gives me butterflies. And I truly believe that that’s the feeling you should follow. Always. If you do, you’ll never lose your way, even if you wander a bit far from home.

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