It was late on a Friday afternoon at the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Brian, nine years old, was there with a school group of about 20 of his friends and his teachers. They had been trying to get Brian to dive all afternoon, but he was too afraid. Now it was time to go, and all of his friends were out of the water, ready to leave, and watching.
For some reason, they were not going to let Brian go without jumping. A teacher stood with him on the diving stone, high above the water, and another teacher waited in the water directly in his path. Brian wore a life vest, just in case. Still, he cried and shook with fear.
After many minutes of painful indecision, he finally cinched his nose and jumped.