Bucket List

Dive Diva
Telling it like it is
July 4th, 2017

I use to be someone who was content to just wake up in the morning, do my chores, go to work, come home, do my chores, got to bed, and then repeat it all again the next day. But one day my everyday routine was flipped completely upside down and to be honest, it was exactly what I needed to get me out of a rut.

One day, my husband's job decided they would be moving their workers families on island to the Dominican Republic. At first, I was scared being in a foreign country for the first time, but quickly adjusted to what is know as island time. Everyone there seemed content and without rushing through their day, it was a very addictive lifestyle. It was during my three years living on island that I truly came out of my shell.

Being that I was scared of deep water it seemed unlikely that I would try scuba diving, but that's just what I did. A group of friends and I decided to try something that was pretty far out of our comfort level. I never would have guessed that I would fall in love with diving the way I did. Shortly after, I continued my training and became a certified diver and hit the water daily, sometimes making multiple dives. The experience opened me up to trying all kinds of fun things. I went zip lining which was huge for me as I'm also afraid of heights, four wheeling through the back country and meeting the locals, went swimming with dolphins at Ocean World, swam with a dolphin, barracudas, and a manatee in the open ocean, cave diving, released a sea turtle back into the ocean, took salsa dancing lessons, and even rode a horse a time or two on beach.



After five years of trying and suffering heartbreaking miscarriages, my husband and I were finally able to welcome our first little one into the world, also while living on island. There were some complications with my recovery, but after conquering all that I can truly say I've experienced life in ways I NEVER thought I would. I never really had a bucket list of goals and things I wanted to accomplish before, but since living on island I do now. I'd love to dive the Geat Berrier Reef, dive in Hawaii, I'd also love to try cage diving, but my husband and I made an agreement. He's scared for my safety and didn't want me diving with great whites, so agreed to scratch that one off my list if he took sky diving off his LOL. But now I have a passion for travel and have lists of places I'd love to visit once our little one is older.

The point of all this isn't to just talk about my experiences and goals, but to help encourage anyone reading this to think outside the box so you can make some of your goals on your bucket list a reality. Or perhaps you're like I once was and don't have a bucket list....yet. Life is fleeting my friends, enjoy the opportunities while you can. Try things outside your comfort level and like me, you just might surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.

~Dive Diva