GordianKnot

Yeah, having to plan how much fun you're going to have on the weekend/vacation gets really tough To the OP: where are you doing your open water dives? The "take off your mask, put it back on, and then clear it" part probably is the most stressful for a lot of people (it was for me), but it's over pretty quickly and then you never have to do it again. Tropical diving is pretty relaxed and there's lots of wild stuff to see underwater. Cold water/drysuit diving is a little less relaxed but still fun and there are some pretty epic things that just happen to be at higher latitudes. Hang in there, you'll be fine!

I don't think comparing it to Russian Roulette is a good analogy. There's a nonzero chance of getting killed doing a lot of things that humans do -- driving, walking, living in places where natural disasters happen. Personally I think my chances of getting killed skydiving are less than my chances of getting killed in the next big earthquake where I live (Seattle). To the OP: if something scares you to the point that it's not fun, or if it's just not fun period, you don't have to do it. You tried it, you didn't like it. For most people, that's part of life. I was terrified for my first few jumps, and still pretty scared up through jump 13. I would even get nervous on the drive to the DZ. I talked to a few people there, they said it's pretty normal to be scared for the first 20 to 100 jumps -- depends on the person. On jump 14, it just clicked. And after that, my entire mentality changed. That said -- if you really don't like it, don't do it. While the "statistical odds" of dying are reasonably low, it's still a dangerous sport -- much like rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, etc -- one in which you have to be able to keep a clear head and focus on what you're doing (I realize I don't have a license yet but I've jumped enough to know that