As I drove to Utah last fall to practice my shotgun shooting for the 2023 World Senior Games, I was struck by just how grateful I felt.
I am blessed with transportation and the equipment to pursue this sport I took up about two years ago after I retired from Bianchi Cup. I had ammunition in my car, plus ear and eye protection. I enjoy my husband’s blessing to disappear to the practice range for days at a time.
How wonderful, and how rare. I take none of this for granted.
I am a 77-year-old Chinese-American woman – an immigrant who did not grow up with any exposure to guns or shooting sports. I raised a family. I supported my husband, cared for my in-laws and helped run a business. Then, when I’d reached middle age, I carved out something that is my own, with my husband Carlos’ support.
These are my golden years, and I want to enjoy them while I remain healthy. As Carlos says, we have lived full, rewarding lives and anything beyond this is a bonus at our age. I want to cash in on that bonus. I plan to spend this phase of life pursuing new challenges and goals while cherishing opportunities to travel or gather with family.
How many women of my generation get to do something like this? In particular, how many women from an Eastern culture like mine, which promotes stereotypical gender roles, are shooting shotguns as a senior citizen?
I am fortunate, but I did not arrive here by luck or coincidence. Our lives are a byproduct of our choices and how we react to adversity.
We do not choose what culture or situation we are born into, and we do not always get to dictate what happens to us. We may encounter difficulties we feel we do not deserve. How we react to those situations affects the direction of our lives.
We all suffer sometimes, but we do not have to carry our scars forever. We can let ourselves become a victim of adversity, or we can take control of our future.
Thirty years ago, my life hit a crossroads after I experienced a deep personal trauma that shook me to my core, rattled my worldview and threatened to alter my life’s direction. In the weeks and months that followed, I felt like a zombie, just going through the motions, just trying to get by.
Fortunately, I found God during this dark time. I developed my relationship with Jesus Christ after a friend introduced me to Christianity by giving me “Guideposts” to read while I navigated my heartache.
I poured myself into my shooting competitions. I sought help from a therapist. I leaned on my faith.
I kept putting one foot in front of the other, and, little by little, the clouds in my life parted. I learned how to forgive, even after I have been hurt deeply. I believe God blessed me with this ability to forgive. I also have come to appreciate the power of moving on.
I look at situations – however dire they might seem – with a mindset that I will refuse to be stuck in a negative place or ignore a problem. I will not allow myself to remain miserable. This mindset helps me navigate past life’s bad occurrences.
When I reflect on that pivotal moment in my life, I am so thankful I stayed the course. My trauma caused me to take a long look at my life, with God’s help, determine what I wanted to come next. I did not ask to be presented with that fork in the road, but I feel with strong conviction that I responded to this traumatic event by taking control and steering my life in the proper direction.
I cannot know what my life would look like right now if I had chosen a different course of action, but I feel joy in knowing I made the right choice.
Nothing would match the life I have now. I am blessed with a happy marriage to my best friend and closest confidant, Carlos. He’s the pillar of our family, and he has been a great asset throughout my shooting career, always supporting me and helping me strategize. I enjoy the love and support of our children and grandchildren. And I am fortunate to have the financial blessings to pursue my shooting career.
I am truly blessed beyond belief.
No two situations are the same, so I cannot say how anyone should react to problems that arise in their lives, but I take comfort in knowing that when I faced the biggest hardship I will ever encounter, I sought comfort in Jesus and found the power of forgiveness.
In this sunsetting phase of life, I feel like the door is wide open to me. I can practice my sport however much my body can handle. I weave competition and training around time with family. When I had the chance to travel to Spain with my oldest daughter last fall, of course I jumped at it. When I returned to the U.S., I resumed training. I am trying to appreciate small improvements on the shotgun range. My scores at the World Senior Games were better than the previous year.
The choices I made throughout life brought me to this place of gratefulness and contentment I experience now. I wish everyone would get to feel the freedom I enjoy.
Learn more about Vera Koo at her exciting website, and also, listen to her audio book.
Vera Koo is a first-generation Chinese American woman. She’s a wife and mother, author, entrepreneur and retired competition shooter. Along with two published books -- "The Most Unlikely Champion" and "Wisdom and Things: Essays From an Unlikely Champion" -- she writes her column, Vera Koo, at "Women’s Outdoor News." View all posts by Vera Koo
