Twice I had a gun pointed at me as I was growing up. How does that happen to one person? It is still difficult for me to understand. The first time was at my first job when I was 16 years old. I worked the front checkout counter at one of the large drug store chains. A man had made a purchase and as I was looking down getting his change he stuck his hand in the register in an attempt to grab as much money as he could. When I looked up, there it was...a revolver. It was my first time seeing a gun in real life because my family was not into shooting of any kind. I just froze, letting him take whatever he wanted and walk away. I can remember it so vividly. I will never forget that day. I was completely shaken up. It took me some time to get over it.
Fast forward about 3 years. It was late at night. I had parked my car on my college campus and was talking to a friend about the evening's events when two men approached my vehicle. One on either side. They each pointed a gun at us. I can only remember that the guns were black and very different from the revolver from my earlier experience. The man on my side of the vehicle grabbed my hair and turned my head so I could not look at him. He demanded my money, so I grabbed my purse and gave him everything I had. As soon as they got what they wanted they ran away. During the experience I was scared, but after it was over my emotions changed. I was very angry. I could not believe that this happened to me a second time. I tried to move on without letting these incidents bother me. However, I started being more aware of my surroundings, carrying pepper spray, and generally trying to not let myself get into a situation like that again.
Several years ago Gene's Aunt got her concealed handgun license. Concealed handgun license? What was that? I'd never heard of it. I started researching about it and thought to myself why don't I do that? It makes perfect sense, especially after what I had already been through. I finally told Gene that I wanted to learn to shoot a gun. He was shocked since I had never mentioned wanting to do it before. Our anniversary was coming up and there it was, an XD9. My first gun. I picked it out of course. It fit my hand just right, it was easy for me to handle, and easy to take down. I loved it. We took it out to the range and as soon as I fired that first shot, that was it...I was completely hooked.
Since then we have acquired several more handguns and rifles, each of which I enjoy shooting. Shooting is my passion and what I love doing the most, especially since I can enjoy it with Gene. I started shooting competitively within a few months of purchasing my first gun and got my concealed handgun license. I will always remember those two experiences, but I feel safer knowing that if something similar happened again I would be prepared if I needed to protect myself.
