Cheer!

Cheer and I have had a long, love-hate relationship for as long as I can remember. I grew up doing cheer and spending long hours in competitions, practices, and games. I started doing cheer at the age of five. I loved the way it felt to be tossed in the air. That’s truly when my love for cheer sprouted. 

Being a young scholar meant a lot of time at school, which also meant having to balance school and cheerleading. For most, it might sound like a challenge unfit for the average kid/teenager, but for me, I wanted nothing more. I stopped competing in the fifth grade, but my love for it never died. When I got to middle school, I started doing sideline cheer for Castle Heights. Then, when I got to high school, I did the RHHS competition and the sideline teams. 

Being on the middle school level team cured my craving for cheer and gave me an interest to keep putting the work in to get to the next level. That’s when I did RHHS, and that’s when the “real” cheer world slapped me in the face. It was a swarm of depending on each other and having to be there for one another, but it could be a toxic whirlwind as well. Although troubles arose, I never once doubted my love for my sport. It was something that came naturally to me and something I couldn’t give up.

That was until this year (junior year), when I was presented with better opportunities in academics and social life. This made me feel heavy because my love for cheer was too strong to quit, but I also wanted to remind myself that it was okay to have a life outside the sport that consumed me. I ultimately decided to take a break this year and not pass up on the other opportunities. It was a hard decision but one that had to be made. 

I am going to continue my cheer journey next year (senior year) to have one last go. I chose to go back for my senior year for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons is the feeling of being left out. Also, the void that I long for is not being fulfilled.

My journey with cheer has been nothing short of amazing. With all the good also comes “bad”. Long practices and comps can be draining to most and have been many times with me, but I wouldn’t want it any other way!