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Have you been going back and forth about whether scuba diving is a sport for you or not? I mulled over this topic for a few days and I wasn't going to push through with this until a good friend inspired me to go ahead with writing about it. She had dabbled into scuba diving for a few times and just seemingly abandoned the sport entirely after a while. The last time I went on a dive trip with her was a few months back. We had gone scuba diving in Cebu, specifically in Malapascua. It was a fun-filled day and we had taken her 12 year old nephew with us. But after that, I hadn't heard from her. And she was one of the rare few that didn't have Facebook so I also didn't know what was going on in her life.

But just recently, one evening when we found ourselves with free time, we had bonded over beer at a local pub, talking about life in general and of course the topic came up – of why she suddenly quit scuba diving. Turns out, she had recently gotten engaged to the love of her life and was saving up for her upcoming wedding. The very reason, by the way, that she wanted to see me – she had wanted to personally invite me to her wedding, “And because of that, I just can’t scuba dive for the moment, Lez,” she confided, “It’s such an expensive hobby and I want to help with the wedding expenses… I’m like that, I want everything equally divided.” She went on about her honeymoon trip and said they wanted to go to Palawan, a dream destination for her and her fiancé, so yes, it was quite understandable that she was cutting back on some current expenses in preparation for the big day. I told her that this was actually a good decision. Scuba diving should not get in the way of the milestones in anyone’s life and certainly not in someone’s wedding.

I realized at that moment that although scuba diving seems to me like something anyone can do - it turns out, it isn't. I expressed this realization to my friend and she encouraged me to write about it. And so here I am, sharing my thoughts with you once again, hopefully this article will help. 

So, is scuba diving really for you? Consider these factors:

Are You Physically Fit?

The first key to being a good scuba diver is good overall physical health. If you've been given an introductory scuba diving lesson during a recent vacation and have decided to pursue it regularly and you have a medical condition or prescribed with any sort of medication, please consult with your doctor if scuba diving is something that you can safely do. Please be honest, as well. You have to declare any and all types of medication and even the smallest medical condition. Once you’re given the all-clear by your doctor, you also have to maintain you physical health by exercising regularly and eating the right food. 

Are You Able To Prioritize Your Personal Expenses?

I had once known a friend from college who had racked up credit card debt and personal loans from family and friends due to scuba diving. As discussed in my previous blogs, scuba diving is an expensive recreational activity and a good scuba diver invests in good, high quality equipment as well as training and certification. If you cannot support this hobby then don’t get into it. Otherwise, you might end up broke and up to your ears in debt. Let me tell you something, though. I am not a millionaire, I’m also working to support my family however, and the key to be able to scuba dive is to prioritize. For example, I may not scuba dive for months to be able to save up for a certain destination or in cases of equipment, I always try to look for the best possible price for the best possible quality. I don’t overspend on scuba diving. It’s not a job or a means of living for me anyway, it is a well-loved hobby that makes me forget about the stress related to the “real” world. 

Do You Have Time?

Aside from budgeting your expenses to accommodate your scuba diving trips and gear, you also have to ask yourself the age old question of: Do I have the time to do this? I had a diving buddy one time whose wife began to despise his love for the sport because he would be gone for days on end, leaving his wife alone with their 3 young children. They ended up separating just because of scuba diving. By the way, after making the rounds of diving in Cebu, he is now a dive master based in Aruba. Still, his wife had told me he is unable to see his children. Scuba diving is not an excuse to alienate your family and friends. In fact, it should be an enriching activity that will make you love what nature has to offer and make you a better person, in general. The key to this is to budget your time. And budget it well, in order to get the best scuba diving experiences while balancing it out with your own personal life.

Do You Recognize The Thin Line Between Hobby and Addiction?

Consider this last question carefully. A hobby is usually a relaxing activity that you do during your spare time whereas an addiction is something you “need” to do to “feel” normal and to “function” properly. This “need” is not necessarily good for you. The most common form of addiction is drug and alcohol addiction however addiction comes in other forms too. I once read about a man who was addicted to running to the point that he was no longer healthy and was at the brink of dying due to excessive running and excessive joining of marathons (2 or 3 marathons in a week). As a consequence, he lost his long-time girlfriend and almost lost his own life. Are you at that level of scuba diving? Have you abandoned family, friends and loved ones? Have you lost jobs or gone broken just because of scuba diving? If so, you need to pause a little bit here and think about possibly stopping and taking a break. The world has enough oceans and seas for you however you can only have so little time with those that love you.