I am terrified of guns so naturally shooting a gun is on my list of 30 before 30. With each thing on my list, I hope to try new things, conquer old fears, and inspire others to do the same. When a Living Social deal came up one day for 50% off paintball, I signed Kelly and I up and had Cheri and Jeff jump on board as well.
Five months later with the deal about to expire, we marked our calendars to go one Sunday afternoon. I can’t explain how much I was dreading going because of how scared I was to play. I had heard people say how much it hurts to get hit by a paintball. I’m all for adrenaline rush inspired adventures but this one had me shaking in my boots. I thought about cancelling especially since I was already sick but I decided it was now or never.
Kelly and I put on old jeans and sweats and headed out to Sapulpa Paintball Adventure Games. It was the perfect weather to play, about 70 degrees. We got there and met up with Cheri and Jeff. Luckily I wasn't alone and Jeff was just as unenthusiastic as I was about what we were about to do. To make matters worse, we see these military guys in their camo-wear ready to go. The idea of having Marines open fire on me didn’t soothe my fears. I sucked it up, as did Jeff, and grabbed our guns and yellow paintballs.
My anxiety managed to ease as we waited in a holding area for about 20 minutes before play. We were then divided up into teams by the referee, yellow bands vs. no bands. He directed us to a field of play that had different barricades to hide behind. One team started from the top and the other team started at the bottom. The safe zone where you go when you are out is called the dead box. Play begins when each team is at their designated starting place. The referee counts to three and the chaos begins. The game ends when one team is completely eliminated. The first couple of rounds, Cheri and I did awesome. We won the first game and were the last two standing on game two. By the third and fourth games, the guys were warmed up and ready to attack. I took a gnarly shot under my arm and shoulder from two feet away. After that, I speculated the final two games. Our only complaint overall was that you had to take too many breaks in between games. I already felt like hell and after a couple of hours into it, I had had my fill.
After the initial anxiety, I had a blast. It turns out it doesn’t hurt too badly at all and it’s really fun. I’m glad I was able to conquer half of my fear and am feeling a little more confident going into part two (shooting a real gun). I would recommend everyone to try it once. I’m definitely planning on playing again and I know Kelly can’t wait! 27.5 things left to do on my list!
I will be attempting to write about this next thing I checked off of my list. Unfortunately, when you complete this task, the details for some reason get a little blurry. Here is why: Finish a whole bottle of wine by myself, with good company. It didn’t seem like the brightest idea after the fact. That much I know. 
