As a somewhat long in the tooth diver, when I move to a new area because there is some unique diving there, or if I am visiting an island to dive it, I often find myself shopping for a dive buddy, and more often than not, a dive buddy who doesn’t dive the way I do, or in the language I was trained to dive in. One of the things that I look for is a diver who might not have the most dives in the world, but at one point in their life "dived their limit to the edge" and had to pull it out. Those divers know how easy things can get freaky, and have felt that, and if they survive the experience, it often makes them more aware of potential risks and potential trouble areas. For example, one of my favorite dive buddies was a man who on his 37th dive "thought" he had a favorite spot dialed him. Well, that place was not far from a current that was not far from a 10 foot underwater cliff. Well, long story short, he and I have been diving all over the Western Pacific, and when he shows up to a boat, his first question is, "Tell me about the currents!" Now, he can ask this question in French, English, Japanese, Italian, and I think even dolphin! When he flies in to an island from his side of the world when we meet up, he has all the maps and charts of the currents of the area and often has data on the thing that goes back to the whaling days!!! Why? Well, he got trapped in a current and his BC at first couldn’t do-diddily-do about it and down he went. So, be proud of what comes in your way. Don’t fight it. Take it apart. And take the parts that look easy one step at time, and always with a safe zone behind you. My student was so afraid of water that his wife could only give him a glass of water that was 1/3 of the size of a regular drinking glass - he thought he would choke. If you watched this chap teach diving today you would see that his eye contact with his students is very, very different. You see, his once deep seated fear of water was an experience that dials him in to other people’s fears at a sensitivity and depth that few people will ever be able to do. You might look back one day and think, "Wow, so that is why I am a uber-hot diving instructor!"