I was certified as an Open Water diver in 1988 by JT dive shop. Up until that time I had spent a lot of my youth in fresh water lakes and rivers around northern Arkansas snorkeling with one of those cheap dive masks and no fins.A little over two years ago my wife and I decided to get back in to diving in a big way. First we updated all of our equipment, then we updated all of our training with specialties we were interested in. We both went on to obtain our Master Stuba Diver certification and I decided to move up the ranks even more until I became an Open Water Scuba Instructor. As far as my favorite PADI specialties, Underwater Navigation is really important, but I do like to go DEEP as well.