A Dive into my Future

A young, 13-year-old girl in a cage surrounded by sharks, what could possibly go wrong? On the
other side of the glass, all eyes were on my friend Sage and me. Our friends and family on the dry side of
the glass unable to stop moving in excitement. My mother and father’s eyes wide with fear as their only
daughter decides to be in a tank full of sharks, in a small cage surrounded by sandbar sharks, black tips,
nurse sharks and even one huge sand tiger. I saw the fear in their eyes. And I know they saw the
fearlessness in mine.

Nowhere feels as peaceful and calm as that cage was. The water was cold but inside the wetsuit
was warm. It was hard not to laugh with my hair floating all around my mask, I have never been so
excited and just overall amazed by what was happening around me. Sage was almost as excited as I was.
The difference between us was that she was in this cage because she wanted to say she did it, not only
because I begged her too. I was in there for a completely different reason. I was there because I didn’t
want to be anywhere else. Nowhere made me feel so peaceful yet alive at the exact same time, not a lot
of people feel this way when surrounded but creatures with the potential to be so dangerous. But I do.

After what only felt like seconds, the diving instructor, without any warning, opened the cage,
with only a large yellow and black stripped stick to keep the sharks at bay. As soon as that cage opened
the sharks started to come towards the cage and I heard a squeak come from sage and I started to laugh
a little. I wasn’t afraid at all; it was just incredible..

People call me crazy, and maybe they are right. I don’t think through every outcome, I don’t
think about what could go wrong especially in a situation like this. I just think about the beauty within
the danger. The way the sharks just glide ever so smoothly through the water like mini torpedoes. The
way the light reflects off their silky skin. The way they just live their life, without worry.

I get called crazy, freak, psycho, when people find out what I want to do with my life, they ask
“why would a little girl want to be surrounded by such scary animals?” but that’s just who I am. When
diving with sharks and being a marine biologist, it isn’t just about the thrill, the adrenaline. For me, it is
about making an impact.

So, one day, I am going to be writing research articles or have a documentary, or even maybe be
one shark week. These goals make me who I am. who cares if I’m crazy? At least I’m not boring. I am just
going to glide through my life, like a little torpedo.