Diving for Sustainability

Tessa Hermesman

Abstract: My essay focuses on my spiritual connection to water, and the sustainability
of the ocean. After seeing so much trash near or in the ocean in Belize, I worried that
generations after me would not be able to enjoy the beautiful ocean that I do. People
need to be more aware of where they place their trash. This idea was explained when I
wrote, Feet from the front door sat piles among piles of trash. As far as I could see,
trash lined the shoreline covering the white Belizean sand. My heart clenched, knowing
that the beauty of this beach was slowly degrading. My mind immediately travelled
forward to the day that I would be at this same resort with my grandchildren. Would we
even be able to walk on these beaches without stepping around piles of plastic bottles
and empty candy wrappers? Even the thought of not being able to see this beautiful
place made me angry. My spiritual connection is displayed in a quote that writes, My
knees placed gently on the ocean floor allowed me to sway like seaweed with each
wave that crashed gently over my head. The ocean was particularly silent, allowing me
to feel calm and humble.
***
When I look at pictures that hold the worlds beauty within them, I feel overwhelmed.
Earth, a sphere floating in space, holds so many beautiful ocean scenes. Yet, I have only
set foot on so few of them.

Often times I find myself looking at pictures of exotic beaches, and my heart longs to
feel that gentle breeze against my cheeks. I dream of planting my feet on those
breathtaking places, and breathing in the dense, salty air they have to offer. But for
now, I have to be content with the places that my toes have dug their way into the
sand, and my lips have felt the thick layer of salt after playing in the waves.

Never did I expect my diving experience to be like the movies. I sat among the ledge of
the boat, weighted down from heavy equipment on my back, strapped onto me by
three large buckles. My hair was pulled back, flying crazily in the wind. Already nervous,
I was told I had to be the first one to get into the water. Although I was panicking, I
agreed. The dive master gave me instructions on how to enter the water, and while he
was speaking I was thinking, What the hell? Dude, you want me to fall in the water
backwards, and this is the first dive I have ever been on? Even better, youre going to make
me get in the water first? Make one of the adults do it!

Trying to keep my cool, I nodded, pretending like I was confident in the directions he
had given me. I took a deep breath in, observing the crystal clear water, and the bright
blue sky consisting of few scattered clouds. Its hard to admit, but I was praying to God
this wouldnt be the last time I got to breathe the air that earth provided. I fell
backwards off the boat, my steel tank breaking through the surface of the water. The
water swarmed over my face, and everything above the sea was blurry.

Once in the water, I waited anxiously for the other three divers to join me. After my
mom fell in the water beside me, we awkwardly floated, drifting away from the boat.
The last two divers fell backwards into the water, and I was now relieved that the dive
master was accompanying me in the water. Just when my nerves settled down, the
fourth diver began to panic and wanted to be out of the water immediately. I thought
to myself, please, not again. My mom and I waited for another ten minutes in the water
by ourselves for the dive master to get the diver out of the water. Finally, the dive
master joined us and we began to slowly go down and equalize the pressure in our ears.
My knees reached the white sand ocean floor. My nerves resided, and I began to
observe the coral reef surrounding me. The rays of sunlight bolting through the water
created multiple streaks of shimmer. Some coral held still in the water, while other
coral swayed with the current created by the waves above. I gasped, taking in the
overwhelming beauty. My knees placed gently on the ocean floor allowed me to sway
like seaweed with each wave that crashed gently feet over my head. The ocean was
particularly silent, allowing me to feel calm and humble. Hundreds of fish and multiple
stingrays carried through the water effortlessly. The feeling I had in the water was
indescribable. Although this was not a natural human habitat, I knew that I was not
causing any harm to the sea life by diving in these waters. Contrastingly, I felt free,
nothing in the world was going to keep me from this moment of pure bliss. I had never
been able to see with my own eyes, and yet there I was seeing the underwater world at
thirteen years old. When my dive ended, I latched on the sidebars of the boats latter. I
pulled my self-up, fins and all. I felt powerful, like nothing in the world was going to
hold me back from the place that I felt a spiritual connection to: the ocean.

The moments of my first dive were especially powerful. I was one of few humans in the
water for miles, observing the beauty of the Belizean coral reef. My love for water
became known in those forty-five minutes of my first dive. Since then, I have traveled
to multiple places consisting of breathtaking water. When I am in or near big bodies of
water, a feeling of pure bliss overcomes me. Whether it is the ocean, swamp, lake, pool,
or river, the water brings me peace.

My experience is Belize was nothing less than perfect until the morning I went for a
walk. Belize has an interesting beach set up. In order to get into the ocean water, I had
to step over a concrete wall about three feet high. Then I took concrete stairs into the
ocean water. This barbwire fence surrounds the entire resort. One morning I woke up
before everyone else, so I decided to take a walk on the beach. I walked casually on the
concrete wall, observing all of the sea life, and watching the waves break past the coral
reef. I felt the suns heat on my back and pieces of my hair blocking my vision because
of the wind. I reached the south side of the resort, and saw the houses feet away from
the concrete wall I was standing on. The houses I saw were neglected, and possibly
vacant. But it wasnt the houses that shocked me the most; it was piles among piles of
trash, making their path toward the water. Feet from the front door sat piles among
piles of trash. As far as I could see, trash lined the shoreline covering the white Belizean
sand. My heart clenched, knowing that the beauty of this beach was slowly degrading.
My mind immediately travelled forward to the day that I would be at this same resort
with my grandchildren. Would we even be able to walk on these beaches without
stepping around piles of plastic bottles and empty candy wrappers? Even the thought
of not being able to see this beautiful place made me angry. How could people throw
their trash onto this beautiful landscape without thinking of generations ahead of us?

Seeing the trash made me think about the position that I was in as an American citizen.
The concrete wall surrounding the resort acted as a barbwire fence, keeping the visitors
in a bubble. Just on the other side of that fence sat the reality of the country of Belize,
which is home to 324,000 citizens. With that said, the Gross Domestic Product of Belize
is 1.448 billion USD, compared to the Gross Domestic Product of the U.S., which is
15.68 billion dollars. Poverty is also a large problem in the country of Belize. Here in the
United States, 15% of our citizens live in poverty, while 25% of families and 33% of
individuals live in poverty in Belize. Belize also has a high infant mortality rate. Out of
1,000 live births, 20.82 babies die under the age of one.

In 1943, a man named Abraham Maslow presented a theory titled Maslow's hierarchy of
needs. This theory suggests that in order for people to think about the effects they have
on the environment, the basic needs of survival need to be provided. These basic needs
include: water, food, homeostasis, sleep, sex, excretion, and breathing. So for those
living in poverty, it is very possible that they have not even thought about the care for
the environment around them.

After my walk that morning, I sat in a chair next to the pool and thought about what I
had just been exposed to. I had so many emotions, and I struggled to sort them all out.
At this moment in time, I was sitting smack dab in the middle of Ambergris Cay, an
island off the shore of Belize. But, how could I be confident sitting here, when one out
of four families that I saw on this trip did not know where there next food source would
come from. I also thought about the effect that the trash was having on the ocean. The
ocean life I saw when diving was so beautiful, and I could not image the animals dying
off due to plastic. On average, each square mile of ocean has approximately 46,000
pieces of trash, and that trash kills over 100,000 marine mammals each year.

Taking in the overwhelming statistics, I know that it is important that I try my best to
make a difference in the amount of trash that is in the ocean. Plastic takes thousands of
years to biodegrade. So, by using biodegradable bags, and recycling all that is
recyclable, we can all make a difference for the ocean and all whom call it home.

My trip to Belize made me think a lot about the country that I live in, as well as
countries that are not as fortunate. I have become more aware of the amount of plastic
that I use, and where it goes after it leaves my hands. There is a specific story that I
always find inspiring. This story is by an unknown author, and talks about a young boy,
and how he believes he is making a difference to the starfish washed up on the beach. It
reads,
A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could
see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept
bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. Time and
again he kept hurling things into the ocean.
As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking
up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was
throwing them back into the water.
The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied, "I am throwing
these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack
of oxygen. "But", said the man, "You can't possibly save them all, there are
thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches
along the coast. You can't possibly make a difference." The boy looked down,
frowning for a moment; then bent down to pick up another starfish, smiling as
he threw it back into the sea. He replied,
"I made a huge difference to that one!"

This story shows how easily we can be dragged down, but our little acts do make a
difference within the big picture. Humans were born to this small planet, and it is our
job to protect it.
























Works Cited

"The Boy and the Starfish." The Boy and the Starfish. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
"List of Countries by Infant Mortality Rate." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 May
2014. Web. 14 May 2014.
"Oceans: Plastic Pollution." TakePart. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
"Rural Poverty Portal." Rural Poverty Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.

















Rubric
TOTAL: ___112__/140
10
Complete
execution of the
standard
9
Strong execution
with some room
to improve
8
Meets the
standard
7
Approaching the
standard
5
Below the
standard
0
Standard is not
present in the
paper
Content
Sense of Place __7.5__/10x 3.5__26__35
__8____ Do you show a clear definition of the sense of place that most resonates
with you?
___7___ Did you communicate which category of sense of place (relationship
and/or attachment) best represents your sense of place?

Environmental Ethic__8__/10 x3.5 __28___/35
______ Do you express a clear understanding of your emerging environmental
ethic? This means that you reveal which environmental ethic(s) is/are most
important to you. You may be torn between different ethics, but you must express
how you are grappling with that conflict or how you resolve it.

Cohesiveness/Integration___8__/10x 2.5__20____/25
___8___ Do you integrate your sense of place, environmental ethic and/or
understanding of our energy needs to shape and express your perspective?
___8___ Are you making connections between your ideas for your reader?
___8___ Do your ideas and paragraphs logically flow in a way that makes sense?

Descriptive Language & Elements of Nature Writing___8___/10 x2.5 _20__ /25
___8___Do you use elements of the Grand Style to SHOW your place to the
reader?(at least two of the following are present: metaphor, simile, analogy,
alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, sensory images like sight, taste, touch,
sound, smell)

Writing Mechanics
Sentence Craft _8.5__/10
__9____ Are you writing sentences that are grammatically correct?
__8____ Is the meaning of your sentences clear and easy to follow?
__9___ Do you use simple and complex sentences for a varied effect?
__8___ Did you streamline your writing to be concise and descriptive? (avoid non-
descriptive word choice like, the tree is extremely tall, I really love ice cream)
Formatting
Guidelines (Must
be met for me to
accept your draft!)
Title: Give your
essay a creative
title! Center it at
the top of your
essay.
Abstract: Include
this beneath the
title
Artist Statement:
If you write a
poem or short
story.
Name: Write your
name underneath
the title.
Font: Size 12
Word Length:
1,500-3,00 words


Proofreading__9.5___/10
___10___ Are there errors in your paper that spellcheck could catch?
___9___ Did you carefully read through your paper for proofreading errors?