Writing exercise...and possible essay idea

I shivered, and concentrated on the rhythm of breath pushing and sucking through my snorkel. The fish dropped their apprehension every so often, one at a time, like children warming up to a stranger’s interest. Their black eyes weary of predators and eager for a nibble of frozen peas. The reef grew up from the seabed and formed a shallow island, which we were instructed to stay off because our fins would damage the polyps. I pumped my legs around the cliff and stared through my mask at the surrounding blue. ~ There are places we remember for the burning color they leave on our memory. Not the images reflected by rods and cones, but the washed over sensations of swimming alone in the wide-open ever-flowing sea. This is what I remember from The Great Barrier Reef.