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Adventure, Imagination, Travel

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Swimming With Manta Rays | A Raja Ampat Scuba Diving Dream Trip

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It’s a really special feeling to be standing on a boat looking out over gorgeous paradise that up until now was just a dream. Just a place that I wanted to visit one day. And now, I’m here. I made it happen, and just for a moment, the scenery around me seems extra vibrant.

As I thought about the sheer awesomeness of sailing around the islands of Raja Ampat, the bell rang for our dive briefing. It was time to get into the water. I was standing on the Jaya, an old sailboat used by Wicked Diving to host budget live-aboard diving trips in one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. When the sails are open, it looks like a pirate ship but this is done only for photos. The onboard engine makes it much easier to navigate at will.

Briefings are done before each dive. It’s important that scuba divers know what to expect in the water and so one of the guides explains to the group about the next dive, the currents, and anything else that might be helpful. It takes about 10 minutes and then it’s time to slide on our wetsuits (slide makes it sound too easy. It’s much more of a struggle), prepare our masks and fins, hook up our BCD, and step into the zodiac. [Read more…] about Swimming With Manta Rays | A Raja Ampat Scuba Diving Dream Trip

My First Cliff Jump

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I must admit, my first cliff jump was not that crazy. It was only about three or four metres. However, it had a profound impact on my life.

It was only my second time out of Canada – a one-week trip to Cancun with my girlfriend at the time. Up until then, I hadn’t been a very adventurous guy but one day when we were tubing down a river at Xel-Ha Park, I noticed a cliff-jump and summoned up the courage to give it a try.

I climbed off my tube, swam to the shore, and climbed up to the platform. From there, I walked to the edge, looked down, and froze. It looked so high and although I knew I couldn’t back out and do the walk of shame, I just couldn’t make the jump. Then a little girl, maybe 8-years-old, ran by me and jumped off the cliff with no fear at all.

Now I really had to do it.

[Read more…] about My First Cliff Jump

Trying Out for an Olympic Team

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Back in the day when I was going to college, I thought it would be cool to try out for an olympic team. I don’t know why I would want to put myself through that, especially with no chance of making a team but it sounded cool. As a Canadian who grew up under the Northern Lights playing hockey, I’ve had many dreams of scoring a goal and helping to win the gold medal for my country.

That of course won’t ever happen BUT as I was walking around the hallways of my college one day, I noticed a poster advertising try-outs for the Canadian olympic speed skating team. Sure, I had never speed-skated before but at least I knew how to skate pretty well.

This was my chance. I jotted down the date (a Saturday morning) and made sure I was ready for it.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. My original plan was to have a good nights sleep but when I came home Friday night, my roommate was throwing a party. Since I wasn’t going to sleep with all the noise, I decided to join in on the fun. Everyone thought I was crazy to wake up and try out for an olympic team. Many were already amazed that I had acted in a movie and it was this night that I realized how different I was from many people. I was a dreamer. Someone wanting to experience life in so many ways.

Saturday morning, I woke up and went to the try-outs. The morning consisted of weight-training and cardiovascular tests. I’ll always remember the bike. The evil bike. A stationary bike hooked up to a TV screen. It was only a 1-minute bike ride racing against the computer but they told me it would be the hardest bike ride of my life. I scoffed at it, wondering how hard 1-minute could really be.

Well, it was hard. Very hard. After a few seconds of warm-up, the tension kicked in and everyone around me started shouting to encourage me to keep going at full strength. By the end of the bike, I could barely walk. I was told to jump on the regular stationary bikes and peddle softly to avoid building up lactic acid in my knees. Everyone else was wiped out too. But before I made it to the other bikes, I walked awkwardly to the bathroom and puked my guts out.

But hey, I did it. I lived!

Next was the on-ice try-outs. I laced up my skates and did numerous laps around an olympic rink. This was difficult but nothing compared to the evil bike. I actually didn’t do that bad, but as expected, I didn’t make the cut. They said my skating was strong but just not strong enough to be olympic-material within two to four years.

So you won’t be seeing me with a Canadian olympic medal anytime soon but I did cross something off my crazy life list. Trying out for an olympic team and with no sleep!

Move into My Own Apartment

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Less than a week after moving to a new city, I found the coolest apartment that I could afford. Since I wanted to live nearby the college I was attending, I would walk the streets all day knocking on houses with rent signs and marking down numbers to call.

Eventually, I got a call back telling me that the current tenants of a penthouse were moving out early and needed someone to take over the lease. A penthouse sounded expensive so that was my first question. I was told $900 for a 2-bedroom. Although this seemed cheap for a penthouse, it was still quite expensive for just myself. I agreed to see it however and as soon as I did, I knew this was the place.

Sure it was old and dated but it was literally one block from college, had a loft-style design, sun windows, three balconies, two bathrooms, and a fireplace. It was also spitting distance to the most popular student bar in the neighborhood. Done.

Not only was that the start of two incredible years but it also lead to another incredible story of how I met one of my best friends. While I was walking the streets looking for rentals, a car pulled up and a the passenger asked me what I was doing. When I explained the situation, he said he was also looking for a place and to call him if I needed a roommate. Eventually, I did call him and we met for a beer. This lead to one of my best friendships to date. It’s not very often, you meet a good lifelong friend walking up and down a street!

You never know what’s going to happen. That’s the beauty of life. Follow your dreams and keep an open mind and a good attitude. Big things will happen.

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Moving into my own apartment was one of my bucket list items when I was younger. Of an initial list of 100 amazing things to do before I die, I’ve now completed all of them! Check out the list. The List 2.0 is even crazier and it’s coming soon.

Go to College

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Growing up, I was never really someone who excelled in school. It’s not that I was stupid, I was just not that interested. I was more interested in sports and partying, especially during my high school years. I always thought about college but since I associated it with high marks, I didn’t really think it serious.

But then, when I decided to move to a new city, I thought I’d apply. I had a number of interests ranging from business to journalism but was eventually accepted into a two-year business administration program. My plan was to actually do good this time and focus on school work but to also party hard, just like what I had seen in the movies. That’s what you’re supposed to do in college right?

I did both and had two incredible years. Actually, I developed many new interests such as making friends with teachers who were super inspiring and travel thanks to applying and getting accepted to study for two weeks in Denmark! That was my first time leaving Canada!

Things I learned in college

Although I obviously learned about business-related things, there were a number of other important things I learned during those two years.

  1. How to balance full-time school with work. Ever since I turned 14, I’ve had some sort of job, whether it be part-time or full-time. I think it’s important to earn your own money and by doing this, I graduated with no debt.
  2. Teachers are more important than the course. I learned that any course – even a boring one – can be made interesting with the right teacher. A bad teacher can make even the most exciting course dull and boring. When a teacher inspires you, ask them if you can meet after class. Buy them a coffee. Discuss things. You’ll be surprised how much you will learn.
  3. Extra curricular activities are just as important as the course. This could depend on what you’re studying but from my experience everyone will graduate with the same diploma. What will make you stand out is the extra curricular activities you participated in on campus. For example, if you’re in business, you should join some sort of business club. Become the president. If you’re into politics, run for student council. Organize events. Organize parties. Use your time at school to get hands-on at the same time you’re learning theory.
  4. Make friends with everyone. In high school, many people stay friends with a certain group and ignore everyone else. In college, it opens up but it’s up to you to shed those barriers you may have created in your younger years. College should be a time to meet people from all different backgrounds and expand your horizons. Just try it.
  5. Have fun. This might sound silly but I see too many people who bury their heads in work after work after work. You should care about your marks but you should equally care about meeting people, participating in activities and enjoying your life. College and university is a short but exciting time in life and it would be a pity to waste it all on studying. Also, if you’re looking to do great things in life, being able to form relationships will likely take you further than academics.

Lastly, I just want to say that college isn’t necessary in many circumstances. I’m glad I went because of the friends I made and the overall experience of being a student BUT many things in life no longer require a college diploma or a university degree. I studied business but in retrospect, I would have done better by putting that money into a starting a business and learning how to grow it from nothing into something. That hands-on learning is hard to come by and is often much more valuable than academics. Think about it.

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This experience was part of The List – a bucket list of incredible things I wanted to do before I die. Check it out.