A year later, I earned my international professional diving instructor certification.
At the graduation ceremony, I was chosen to speak on behalf of the year's top students.
I stood in the spotlight in a sleek black wetsuit, calm and steady.
"The ocean taught me more than technique. It taught me reverence and courage. It dragged me to the depths, and it made me who I am today. I'm grateful for that, because it showed me something I'll never forget: what pulls you under has never been the waves. It's the person standing beside you who pushes you in. And the only one who can bring you back to the surface is yourself..."
The hall broke into applause.
After the ceremony, an unexpected face was waiting for me.
It was Tiffany. She had been released early, by the look of it. She seemed year
