Perfectly Imperfect Beauty

The mask covers my face completely, leaving the small plastic window for my eyes to see. The snorkel attaches firmly to the mask with a click, and I put the bottom piece in my mouth, the rubber tasting bitter on my tongue. My stomach churns with nerves of seeing a shark as my mom and I walk to the ocean, the pebbles on the beach rough on our feet, and the waves seeming to make fun of us for being scared, daring us to come in.

We wade into the water, face down, breathing slowly through the small path of oxygen that we are allowed in the snorkel. My skin breaks out in small goosebumps, the water feeling cold as ice on my sun-warmed skin. 

The first thing my mom and I see is green, the sea floor completely covered in marine plants that serve as food for countless animals. The fish are plentiful, of all shapes and colors and sizes, teeming with diversity. 

The sun dances with the current, bending and creating patterns of light that seem to sparkle with wonder. We swim further from shore, the sea floor slowly getting further from our eyes as we hover on the surface of the water.

Out of the corner of our eyes, the sun hits something different, something bigger. We see a circular shape on the floor, and we slowly approach, still wary of the unknown wonders of the ocean.

The sea turtle swims calmly, eating its dinner and exploring. It doesn’t seem to be bothered by us, and my mom grabs my arm and screams into her snorkel, the water and the plastic muffling her words and shouts of excitement. The eye contact we share is filled with excitement and awe, knowing that this is a nearly impossible experience in the wild. As we get closer, I hold my breath and I plunge underwater to get a closer look, the pressure building on my temples and squeezing the mask to my face.

The turtle is small, with a beautiful shell pattern of hexagons. The sun seemed to glint off the brown shell, and the head and fins were covered by unsymmetrical spots of all shapes and sizes, the color seeming to contrast the shell completely, creating the perfectly imperfect beauty of the sea turtle. 

My mom and I watch with awe as the turtle enjoys his food, calmly swimming along the seafloor, flapping its fins to swim. As we tread water and watch the turtle swim away, I peel off the plastic mask from my face, my eyes glowing. Looking at my mom, I realize the experiences of nature are endless.