The sense of coolness on my skin shocked me fully awake. My body floated in an amazing space. I was weightless. Nothing bound me down， not even gravity. For once in my life， I felt free. Stars were everywhere， filling up all of the space around me. A sense of wonder filled my mind， as it always does when I’m in the sea， submerged deep under the rolling waves. Scuba diving always contains thrill， however， with the sun setting， casting red， orange and pink streams of light through the water， the glow worms gathering all around， glowing brightly， like falling stars. The water developed a new sense of wonder， and the underwater world was expanding rapidly in my mind.
　　At first， you were breathless. The shock of water was rushing up against your skin， the sense of weightlessness was taking you， and the underlying beauty of the world was lying right in front of you. And then， with the first breath， everything crystallized. The water was as clear as a diamond. The fish swam along in swarms， bending and turning with the current. The beauty of this underwater world was overwhelming.
　　My first night dive was a breathless， overwhelming experience， one that held my eyes and brain hostage from all other thought the whole while. The beauty that I saw that night stayed with me， and I learned that we are all a small blip in a larger universe， and we are all a part of something greater than ourselves.
　　The first half of the dive was done in the dying rays of sunlight， with colorful refracted light all around. It seemed as if we were swimming through a kaleidoscope. There were so many creatures coming out or going to sleep. Baby octopus， squid， nurse sharks， puffer fish， lobsters， and many more. Viewing them in their natural habitat was wonderful. I moved my hands and head as a way of telling my dad （designated dive buddy for that night） many times， pointing out many sights， like the local dolphins that joined us and swam next to us for some time， or a lionfish here and there. This arrangement ended up having me basically drag him behind me in my excitement. I’m sure he was angry with me even before we were halfway through the dive.
　　Then it was the true purpose of the night dive. When the sun’s last rays disappear， like dying rays of hope， the whole group spiraled down to the bottom of the sea， and turned off the lights we dove down with， submerging us in darkness. But the darkness didn’t last long. One by one， little lights flickered on all around us. The glow worms had come. Everything faded away， and my dad， kneeled next to me. The rest of the divers were all in a circle on the seafloor. All that was real to me in this moment were the lights. The little lights of hope were slowly coming， all around us. To divers， in moments like those， it seems that when we turn the lights off， the world comes on.