[chickdiver]

I was always athletic, but in an offbeat kind of way- the potential was always there, but I never cared for team sports. I swam competitively some as a kid, and I really hit my stride as a young adult when I learned to SCUBA dive. The deeper I got into diving, the better I became, and the more I leaned towards "technical" diving- which, in the early 90's when I started, was very male dominated. Not only was I a female in a male dominated activity (and industry, as I became an instructor), I was a YOUNG FEMALE. I got involved in my mid 20's with an elite group of cave explorers- and I eventually became the only female mixed gas diver out of a team of 100+ divers. Less than 10 of us were women. I gained the guys respect, partly, because I never whined about things and pulled my share of the work. I got into lifting because I had to move heavy equipment around- equipment that weighed nearly what I did out of the water (in the water is easy). I also had to get myself and my equipment back on boats- sometimes in very ugly conditions- having the strength and stamina to do so was a matter of safety. These days, I am a respected technical diver and technical diving instructor.

My parents never told me I wasn't capable of doing anything I wanted to do. My Dad has always been awesomely supportive. My male dive buddies are awesome, they have been known to set others (mostly boat captains) straight when they have questioned my ability to do a particular dive.