My name is Yuxin. I am from China and have been in Canada for three years. My name means “rain and cheer” in Chinese. It was given to me because it was raining outside when I was born. My name is what reminds me the most of my connection to water. Oceans and marine life have always interested me, but I have lived in inland cities in both Canada and China. So far my most memorable experience with water took place in the Indian Ocean.

Last year I went to the Maldives and started my first scuba diving trials there. Before getting into water, I searched for tips on diving, including to avoid the deadly titan trigger fish. With some knowledge of diving and a good coach, I explored a fifteen-metre deep underwater rift. The high pressure of water, which did not appear in the diving tips, smacked my goggles so hard while I was going down. However, I forgot the pain on my face as soon as I witnessed the bottom of the rift. Marine life in the deep water created such an unforgettable scene. I was surprised by a seashell larger than my waist and eight lobsters with antennas longer than my arms. A pair of clown fish were dancing on the top of an anemone, and schools of fish were forming sheets of
music as they swam. There was also a giant fish with dark orange scales just swimming alone like police patrolling the area. The lush underwater landscapes made me more interested in marine life and scuba diving.

Since then, I have started looking at journals and articles about diving. In one of them, I saw a picture of titan trigger fish, which exactly resembled that orange giant in the Maldives. What a close encounter with the dangerous fish!