I was not prepared to watch my friend get nipped by a shark.

Hey, I’m Marisa!

If there was a shark near me…I was swimming with it!

Three people in scuba gear on a dock. A woman in the center wearing a pink tutu guard looks up and smiles. A man in black scuba gear stands next to her

In reality, my hand was shaking and I may have almost cried.

Some of the discoveries even surprised me!

Here are some of the most useful things I’ve learned while swimming with sharks.

Divers photograph a shark swimming under a large boat in clear blue ocean water

Would you ever dive with sharks?

Let me know in the comment section below!

A shark swims while smaller fish swim near the shark

A single shark swims gracefully toward the camera in clear ocean water

A scuba diver encounters a large shark underwater; another diver with a camera is in the frame

Divers, equipped with underwater cameras, are photographing sharks swimming around them underwater

A large shark swims underwater in a clear blue ocean

A person swims with a shark and several smaller fish

Scuba divers interact with sharks underwater

Two scuba divers swim underwater among several sharks. One diver is in the foreground, and another is farther back. Bubbles and fish are seen in the background

A scuba diver swims underwater near a large shark, appearing to reach out as the shark approaches. Bubbles rise from the diver's breathing apparatus

A hand holding two small, white shark teeth against a light-colored wooden background

A large whale shark swims gracefully in deep blue water, accompanied by a smaller fish swimming close by

Multiple fish, including a shark, swimming in deep blue underwater scene, with sunlight filtering from the surface above

A view from a boat deck at sunset with scuba diving equipment in the foreground and the ocean extending to the horizon

A shark swimming in the ocean over a sandy seabed

Scuba diver interacts with a shark on the ocean floor