it wasn’t the first time. my dad had already taken my sister and me to a shooting range before. the first time, i sucked at it. the second time, yesterday, wasn’t exactly any better.

although i did kind of improve during the last few rounds. kind of.

first of all, not only were my hands a little bit too small to hold a .45 without losing control of the steadiness of my grip that the bullets tended to swerve to the left side of the target, but my posture wasn’t exactly the ideal one either. the way i stood, i was always in danger of toppling over backwards — either from recoil, or simply from a small gust of wind. lol. apparently, keeping your back straight doesn’t exactly work in your favor when it comes to shooting. when the instructor reminded me to stoop down a bit, it always felt awkward. uncomfortable, even.

i know, i know. excuses.

but if there’s one thing i give myself credit for, though, is that i was relentless at really nailing those alpha shots. even if it meant arm fatigue after doing one round after another after another. which i did. eventually.

i mean, not to brag but i was able to hit bull’s eye with the water bottle cap taped on the target board. a water bottle cap! alpha shots all around it. okay, wiping the smirk off my face now. lucky shots or not, it was kind of rewarding to see some progress considering my effort.

but my most favorite part about shooting?

it’s those seconds that seem to stop right between aiming and pulling the trigger. that silence in your head where you’re concentrating really hard you’re not thinking anymore. just that silence. weird. or maybe it’s just because i think way too much that not having to think is a novelty to me. a reprieve.

but enough about that. i’m starting to sound morbid. even to myself.

my dad, on the other hand, was all about form. he wanted to look good in the pictures like them action stars so he can send the photos to my mom. lol. he’s really funny like that. i have such a cool dad.

el2 and her boyfriend did really well too. kyle did exceptionally well, in fact. but i don’t have pictures of them here so…