An Emotional Rush Like Never Before.

Everything started when I decided to enter the "Klippan Junior Tournament". I didn´t have very high expectations, because i had never gotten through to the finals in such a big competition before. But this time around something changed. Somehow I managed to play fairly good and made it through. I was very happy but at the same time, very nervous. The finals started at 1 pm and lasted for about 5 hours. During that time my emotions were all over the place. But in some way I managed to pull it together, and I won the hole tournament.

When mom, dad and I arrived at the bowling saloon in Klippan I didn´t know what to expect. I knew my competition, and I knew that it wouldn´t be easy. When the time came for the finals to start, my heart was beating very fast. We were 8 girls, all of us headding for the same goal. After the 1 round, only 6 of us would remain. I decided to take it all one step at a time. The 1 round was easy, and I secured my place into the next elimination round. Now 6 girls would become 4 and the bar had been raised. I got of to a good start, but as the final shot came closer. The 2 girls who were a bit behind, were catching up on me. When we were only a few pinns apart, my heart began to beat very fast. When it was time for the last shot I knew I had to spare. So I took a few deep breaths. I made the last shot and the final pin fell. The tention eased a bit, I made it by just a few pinns. I knew I had to step it up if I wanted to win. With only four girls remaining, it was time to play against eachother. One on one. Since I was in fourth place, I were to play against the leader. And the winner would get through to the final step of the finals. Josefin, the girl I was about to play against, was the same age as I was and I knew how good she was. So I thought to my self. " Play the best you can, but it doesn´t matter if you don´t win. She is more than a worthy aponent." I knew there was a chanse that I could beat her. But I didn´t know how big that chanse was. I would be happy to be in fourth place no matter what happend next. I was really really nervous when we started. I must have felt a little bit of everything in those 30 minutes. When I was in the lead I felt hopeful and happy. And when she was in the lead I felt pretty anxious. But I kept my cool and I won that lap. I knew, right then, that I would never forget how I felt when she said. "Congratulations, and you played very, very good." And then she smiled. Finaly it was time for the last step. And my aponent were Cajsa Wegner, a 10 year old girl with a real tallant for bowling. We were both very tiered and hungry, since we had been playing for about 4 and a half hours straight. I didn´t realy feel much of anything. I just focused on my game and did what I had to do to win.

Now, almost three months later, I realise how much that tournament meant to me and to my future. It was truly a life changing day. I proved to my self that I can play really good if I want to, and now my future within bowling looks very bright. I still remember how my dad almost screamed of excitment, when we knew that I was the winner. It was the best feeling ever. It was really an emotional rush like never before.

~Emma*