Why free-diving? It’s dangerous, it’s hard, and holding your breath is really unpleasant—not to mention the sharks. Why would anyone need such a thing?

I was looking for some escape for a long time. From all my frustrations, insecurities, and fears… it feels like they’ll go on forever. I get overwhelmed and unable to truly be myself. But under the sea, I enter another world, one where the laws of physics are different. The wind and waves above no longer bother me.

There is silence, yet I can feel the ocean’s sound—an elusive, resonant sound of silence, sometimes accompanied by distant, indistinct noises. In the sea, sound travels much faster than in air, making it difficult to discern where it comes from or how far away the source is.

The pressure of the water around me feels comforting, and humans are surprisingly well-adapted to it.

When I dive, once I descend past 10–15 meters, I feel weightless, as if I’m flying. At this depth, buoyancy becomes negative, and the ocean gently pulls me downward. It feels like falling, like floating in space. This is the moment when people fall in love with the sport.

Now there’s no need to talk, no need to look around, no need to think, so I close my eyes and look inside myself. I feel purified from everything above, my mind is empty. If I look, I will see blue everywhere, fading into darker and darker shades as I descend. And if I would look around, I would see the blue color getting darker as I descend.

With each moment of free-fall, I become calmer and more at peace.

The sensation is pure. My body and soul align in perfect harmony. I close my eyes, and the deeper I go, the calmer and more relaxed I feel.