Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction | Non-fiction: Adventure with a Purpose

  • Home
  • Mike Scott Thrillers
    • Held Hostage: Search for the Juncal
    • Water Crisis: Day Zero
    • Turks and Chaos: Hostile Waters
    • The 3rd Key: Sharks in the Water
    • Oil and Water: Crash in Curacao
    • Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage
    • Heart of the Maya: Murder for the Gods
    • Wreck of the Huron: Cuban Secrets
    • Guardians’ Keep: Mystery below the Adriatic
    • Flooding Hollywood: Fanatics at the Dam
    • Cayman Cowboys: Reefs Under Pressure
  • Withrow Key
    • Lyin’ Fish
    • Tales from Withrow Key
  • Thriller Audiobooks
    • Cayman Cowboys: Reefs Under Pressure
    • Oil and Water: Crash in Curacao
    • Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage
    • Turks and Chaos: Hostile Waters
    • Lyin’ Fish
  • Agent AJ West
  • About the Author
    • Scuba diving thrillers!
    • Six Questions with Eric Douglas
    • Publicity and Interviews
  • Nonfiction
    • For Cheap Lobster
    • Heart Survivor: Recovery After Heart Surgery
    • Oral History
      • Batter Up!
      • Memories of the Valley
      • WV Voices of War / Common Valor
      • Capturing Memories: How to Record Oral Histories
    • Dive-abled: The Leo Morales Story
    • Keep on, Keepin’ On: A Breast Cancer Story
    • WV Voices of War / Common Valor
    • Russia: The New Age
    • Scuba Diving Safety
  • Free Short Fiction
  • Collections
    • Mike Scott Box Set 3 (Books 7-10)
    • Mike Scott Box-Set 4-6
    • Mike Scott Box-Set 1-3
    • Tales from Withrow Key
    • Sea Turtle Rescue and Other Stories
    • River Town
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Diving / Learning from diving

Learning from diving

July 18, 2011 By Eric Douglas

Last Thursday and Friday, seven teens were certified to dive in Key Largo, Florida. I have no doubt that is an extreme understatement, but, these seven teens were a bit different than the average teen learning to dive. They were all foster kids.

Family Support Services of Northern Florida (an organization that administers the foster care programs in several counties) taught the students to dive as they were about to “age out” of the system. In just a few months, each of these teens would be 18 and no longer covered by the foster care system—effectively out on their own. (From what I understand, Florida has a great support program beyond 18 years old, but their foster families are no longer paid to house and support them.)

A friend I’ve known since elementary school happens to work for the program and invited me to speak to the kids and go diving with them. I hope the kids learned something from what I talked to them about; I’m sure I learned from them.

While the kids were learning to dive and appreciate the ocean and the wonder of a clear water and marine life all around, they were also learning bigger lessons. They were learning about team work and supporting their buddies. They were learning about responsibility.   And they were learning about setting goals. None of these kids have had it “easy”. They’ve grown up without parents. They’ve grown up without family. I’m sure counselors could tell me all the things that does in a person’s mind even when things go relatively smoothly. There is no way it is a good thing for your self esteem.

But these kids had a spark about them, and they were excited. I asked a couple of them if they were nervous about diving off of a boat – thank you Ocean Divers in Key Largo – and they said yes, they were, but they immediately launched into how excited they were to be there and how much fun they were having. It was a whole new world for them.

My talk was about diving, traveling and the opportunities that can come through working in the diving industry. But I also hope I got across the message that whatever they care about—whatever it is that makes them excited—there can be a future in that as well. In diving, there are engineers, designers, graphic artists, marketing people, accountants and every other job description you can think of. Every company needs business people to make it run. I encouraged them to figure out what it was that excited them and to figure out how to apply their own talents to it.

I came away from my time with this group of seven kids energized. They were so excited and happy to be learning to dive. Better yet, they saw opportunities and potentials. They had learned their lessons of responsibility and leadership. They had also learned to look out for each other. Was it perfect? Not hardly. My hat’s off to the chaperones, by the way. I would not have wanted to deal with those seven kids that far from home. But the kids taught me to keep focused and keep moving forward. They weren’t letting the challenges they have faced stand in their way.

So, when I want to complain or let someone else’s anger and negativity get in my head, I’m going to think about those kids. And I’m going to get excited!
Check out this Youtube video about the SPLASH program.

.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Related

Filed Under: Diving

Get a free, exclusive short story!

When you sign up, you can download a free Mike Scott short story collection. Theses three stories are only available to members of the mailing list. Don’t worry, we won’t spam you or sell your email address. We hate that, too.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

How I got into diving!

https://youtu.be/gKhw-4tORAM

Real Thugs: A Cult of Murder — Small groups of travelers have disappeared all over the mid-Atlantic without a trace. When bodies turn up with what appear to be ritual markings, FBI Agent AJ West is on the hunt for what might be a serial killer. Or something even more sinister. It’s a race against […]

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

View Book

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Going to the circus! February 20, 2023
  • Cayman Cowboys is now an Audiobook! November 24, 2020
  • Halloween 2020 – as if reality wasn’t scary enough October 30, 2020
  • Real Trick and What Noise? October 30, 2020
  • Local Diving — Summersville Lake September 21, 2020

Blog posts, by category

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 ·