Being
a nerdy bookworm is hard work. Not only do we have to read the book, but we
have to devour it and let it take over our entire lives. For instance, when I
read Harry Potter I had to find out what house I would be in. Thanks to
Pottermore I have discovered that I was a Slytherin (something that not only
shocked me, but my friends and family as well). So when I went through my
medieval phase during my preteens and read books like King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Otto of the
Silverhand, I automatically decided that my weapon of choice had to be the bow
and arrow. For some reason, out of all of the heroes in books, whether they be
the super or ordinary, my favorite by far has been Robin Hood. His impeccable skills
with the bow and arrow, his chivalrous acts, his undying love for Maid Marian,
well—it’s enough to make me swoon.
But
sadly I have yet to use a bow and arrow that is until about three weeks ago
when I went to the Renaissance Faire. Not only is the fair filled with history
loving folk and fairies but it also has lessons in all medieval forms of
fighting and self defense. So you will have to trust me when I say that I was very
excited for that Sunday outing. Finally I was going to confirm, not only to my
friends, but to myself, that I was meant to be an archer.
Racing
to the booth, I gave the lady manning the counter five dollars in exchange for
eleven arrows and a bow. Putting ten of my arrows into my quiver, I loaded my
bow and pulled back it’s string only to have the arrow drop out immediately. Laughing it off, I reloaded my bow and
tried again only to have the same repercussions. But I didn’t give up, I kept
trying and trying and at one point I almost had it only to discover that
pulling that string back was a lot harder than I had thought. And then, of course, the arrow fell out.
Out
of nowhere, my own Robin Hood came to save the day. A Robin Hood that was maybe
three years younger than me, one of the workers behind the booth, and making
fun of me in his head the entire time. Something he admitted to me later.
Anyway, he was the best sort of teacher, he didn’t say a single word to me
through out the entire lesson making me feel pathetic which in turn wanted me
to impress him so that he would stop giving me the cold shoulder. A problem I
have always had.
Through
his silence he taught me how to position my left wrist and how not to pinch the
arrow. He even fixed my disgraceful posture. After much fixing and glaring, he morphed me into what looked to be an archer. Which only mean one thing, we had to find out if I really was, if the bow and arrow really was my weapon of choice. Pulling back the
string, I thanked God my arrow did not fall out and
squinted my eye, trying to in line my arrow with the intended target. With a deep inhale, I let go. The arrow flew past me taking me by surprise and hit
the red ring around the yellow bulls eye.
I had done it. I was an archer.
I had done it. I was an archer.
After
that the other ten arrows flew through my fingers effortlessly—well, almost
effortlessly. And in that moment it was decided that, with some practice, I
would one day make a great archer. Pulling out a notebook, I wrote down
everything I had learned and relished the fact that I had completed something
off my bucket list. I also noted that I should not take up the Javelin or knife
throwing, because one try was embarrassing enough.
HKx
The title is taken from the lyrics of Robin Hood, a famous folk song.
HKx
The title is taken from the lyrics of Robin Hood, a famous folk song.
Great photo's!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your sweet comment on my blog, it made my day! You have a lovely blog here and I hope you pop back soon:
http://welcometocharlotteswardrobe.blogspot.co.uk/