Unlike many surfers who sought the perfect wave, my interests always lay beneath the sea' s surface in a world I could only imagine and dream of.When I was twelve, I made my first adventures in the deep.Later I would learn how to dive, expanding my world of exploration many times over. Perhaps the greatest turning point in my life came when I was in high school and I wrote a letter to the famous Scripps Oceanographic Institution, asking how I might learn more about the sea.A kind scientist answered my letter and told me how to apply to Scripps for a summer scholarship, which I received.During one of their courses that summer, I met Dr.Robert Norris, a marine geologist.He loved the sea almost as much as I did.Soon he suggested I consider his school, the University of California, for my study.One year later I became a member of the freshman class. Now my love affair with the sea became a serious endeavor .If I wanted to be an undersea explorer, I needed to learn as much as I could about the laws of the physical world that controlled the environment I wanted to enter.The undersea world is not our natural world.It is unforgiving to those who make mistakes.At its greatest depths the water temperature is near freezing, the pressure is eight tons per square inch, and it is totally dark.It is easy to get lost in such a world.I needed to learn a lot about geography, navigation, geology, biology, and many other things. I decided another important thing for me to do was to join the U.S.Navy.If I was going to be an undersea explorer, I would have to lead men and women on dangerous adventures where they might get hurt, and I didn't want that to happen. In the Navy I learned discipline, organization, and how to motivate and lead people on adventures so that we could explore the wonders of the deep. Finally, the time came to put all that I had learned to use, to go forth with a team of men and women and explore an adventure I am still on and hope to be on for many years to come. What happened to the author at the age of twelve?
He dreamed about undersea exploration. He began to swim under the deep water. He surfed on big waves for the first time. He learned to dive off the cliffs.