Saturday I had the scariest experience of shooting a 9 mm gun at the shooting range in Springdale. As soon as I walked into the range, I had to put the headphones on because it was SO loud. I also had goggles just in case one of the bullet shells came back and hit me in the eye.

So to make me even more scared, my dad just automatically put the gun in my hand and told me to aim and shoot. He told me all the basics that I needed to know at least, like keeping your arms straight and holding it tight enough and low enough, so it doesn’t snag your fingers when it recoils.

I was shaking terribly. All I could see was the red laser bouncing up and down really fast.

Finally I shot the gun, and as soon as I did, I completely staggered backwards. That made me a little jumpy, so I quickly sat the gun down and backed away. But, of course my parents made me do it again, because they thought it would be good for me to know how, just in case I ever get in a situation where I must protect myself.

I didn’t know if I was going to be able to handle doing it more, but I did. I guess looking back on it, it was a good experience to have and it was kinda fun!