After Bali, I travelled with my mum to Koh Tao, Thailand. Koh Tao is a small island, but everywhere you go, you can see divers — walking with their tanks, washing their wetsuits, talking about fish and dive sites. I like to call it a “divers’ island,” because diving is basically its whole life.

Being on Koh Tao made me feel excited again. I knew this was one of the best places for beginners, and I wanted to give the PADI Bubblemaker another try. I remembered how I failed the first time in Bali, but I also felt like maybe I was a bit braver now.

My instructor helped me try different regulators and mouthpieces until we found one that actually felt comfortable. This time, the mouthpiece didn’t feel too big. It fit my mouth properly, and when I bit down on it, it didn’t hurt my jaw.

When I put my face in the water and took my first breath, I was shocked —
I could breathe! Normally! Underwater!

It still felt strange, but not scary. My brain didn’t scream “No!” this time. The bubbles came out gently, and I felt proud of myself. I finally did something I couldn’t do in Bali.

But even though I could breathe, I wasn’t fully confident. Underwater, I felt wobbly — like a balloon that keeps floating away in random directions. I couldn’t control my body with the water’s buoyancy. Sometimes my legs floated up. Sometimes my body tilted to the side. I didn’t feel steady at all.

I knew I wasn’t ready to swim around like real divers yet. I felt like a new baby giraffe trying to stand on slippery ice. My instructor stayed close, holding me when I drifted too much, and helping me stay calm.

Even though I didn’t move perfectly, I still felt proud. I had successfully breathed underwater for the first time. It was a huge step for me. I didn’t finish the whole program, and I wasn’t a confident diver yet — but I learned that sometimes success doesn’t mean being perfect. Sometimes it just means doing better than last time.

And this time, I did.