I loved duckpins as a kid.
There are pictures of me when I was maybe 4 or 5 years holding a small
bowling ball used for duckpins. I have
fond memories of playing in that country club every time I went to Baguio for vacation. There was a certain magical feeling of
throwing a ball down a 60 foot lane and knocking down all ten pins, seeing how
the pins are put back by hand then eventually by machine, and getting ready to
do it all over again. What a childhood…
So I guess it’s no surprise I eventually ventured into “big
boy” bowling when I was a little older.
I don’t really remember how good or bad I was since I was really just
playing for fun. I just knew I could
throw that ball pretty straight if I needed to.
Now that I am past the teen years and am wondering what to do with my
life, I came to the conclusion that no matter what I do, I want bowling to
always be part of my life.
For most of my teen years, bowling has just been the game to
play whenever I vacation in a country club or get invited to a bowling birthday
party. Now that I am done with school, I
got myself a coach and have been bowling regularly for the past year and a
half. Naturally, I found myself watching
bowling videos on Youtube (God bless the uploaders). The only other time I ever saw bowling
onscreen was when Kelly Kulick defeated Chris Barnes to become the 1st
woman to ever win on the PBA Tour. That
was way back in 2010 and it was just luck that I saw it. I was taking summer classes and came home
during lunch. Coincidentally, I just
came from a Philosophy class I believe so I was very deep in thought that
time. So I was flipping through the
channels and suddenly stopped at the sight of bowling on TV. I was shocked since, as I said before, I have
never remembered clearly seeing a bowling match on TV before. I watched in awe as I witnessed history in
the making. This woman whom I’ve never
heard of was clearly dominating the match and with the way she was bowling, it
wasn’t hard to see why. It was at that
moment I decided to pursue bowling seriously.
I promised myself that after I graduated, I will cast aside all doubt,
get myself a coach and become the best bowler I know I can be.
As far as bowling knowledge goes, I am still a noob. There are still so many terms, equipment and
strategies I have yet to master. It is a
difficult and daunting task. But I
believe with all that I can believe in, this is what I want. This sport is one of the things that make
life worth living. No matter how down
and out I feel, I can always look forward to the day I step onto those lanes
with my good friends and just have a great time, chatting, laughing, eating,
high fiving and most all, bowling.
