Daniel Rodriguez  America's Beloved Tenor 

I first became interested in scuba while on vacation in the Florida Keys. I had the opportunity to go snorkeling with a boat captain named Les. He looked and sounded like Johnny Cash. He ran a boat called "The Betwixt" and his shop was the Reef Runner. 

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We headed out one sunny morning to the most beautiful coral reef in the Florida keys called Looe key reef. On board were two scuba divers and myself along with 2 other snorkelers. After 5 minutes in the water looking at the awesome colors and marine life on the top of the reef, I decided to try some free diving. Just holding my breath and going down to the bottom of the reef for a little look around. I took two deep breaths and headed down to about 30 feet below the surface. 

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When I got there I saw the two divers headed for me. They were slowly cruising the cuts between the coral, exploring the overhangs and caverns that hid an abundance of reef fish. The laws of nature quickly reminded me that I had to surface and could no longer stay in the deep blue. 

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I decided then and there that I would learn to dive and explore the deep ocean for myself. To date I have logged over 300 dives and have been down to a depth of 140 feet. I've swam with dolphin, shark, sea turtles, rays and manatees and I've hovered over an abyss that sank to a depth of over 2 miles. 

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Life is granted to each of us and the only requirement is that you have to live. How you choose to live is entirely up to you. I choose to explore every possibility, every dream, every corner of this great big world God has placed us in. For in the end two things are sure, you will live and you will die. What happens in between is up to you, so why not make the most of it.