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Ever since I could remember I have loved the water. Something about being enveloped in the cool liquid state has always made me feel weightless in more than just my body. Just being near any water has always calmed me. The ocean had drawn me in since I was young. But nothing had ever drawn me in quite like the indian ocean that surrounded the small islands of the Maldives. The clear white sand, the fresh crisp air, and water so clear you could see every grain of sand, every little fish beneath you. We stayed in bungalows that stood above the water and had stairs that lead straight into the calm blue below. The food was fresh and the islands feel as if they breathe peace and relaxation into you. I had traveled with my parents to these enchanting enclaves- the culture and experience were all enthralling- but nothing enraptured me more than when we decided to start our scuba diving lessons. My mother was scared of what we might encounter in the deep near our island, and to be honest I was too- Steve Irwin was taken out by a passing stingray and it seemed as if he and animals had an almost telepathic understanding- whatever we encountered down below I felt unprepared to handle. But any worries that weighed me down disappeared to the surface with our air bubbles as we ventured into the waters. There was a sunken ship not far from our drop off point that rang nostalgia of The Little Mermaid and I worried for a moment something might be lurking in its confines. But our instructor led us in and suddenly hundreds of fish swam out like a hidden rainbow. We turned around to follow their iridescence and three sea turtles swam by us, stopping only briefly to look us over and give a look that almost seemed to urge us to follow. We slowly floated by with them until our instructor halted us abruptly and pointed toward some coral. We looked closely and noticed a piece was moving- it was a small octopus camouflaging into the environment, only noticeable by its slight shifts- altering pieces of itself as it moved through. We moved back towards where the boat was to pick us up and a fever of manta rays seemed to fly above us. We made ourselves parallel to the water and the rays swam between us as if we were part of a gallery of shooting stars. Once we rose I knew that although the islands had its charm- the real destination was this clear, clean and miraculous world that lay underneath.