Bring It On, is
my all time favorite movie and was the first encounter I had with the sport of
cheerleading. This movie showcased a talent on a caliber in which I had never
witnessed before. From the moment that I finished watching that movie something
ignited a love for this sport that would never go away. The girls in this movie
were skinny, confident, and weren’t afraid to show what they got. They had a skill level that made the
cheerleading that I had previously been exposed to look like child’s play, and
not to mention the cute outfits they got to wear while performing put all
others to shame. However, I had one dilemma while watching and that was, “how
am I ever going to be one of them?” In that moment I realized that cheerleading
was something I wanted to do but would never have the opportunity to.
I was a young
overweight insecure girl that didn’t think I was capable of being pretty or
confident in any way. For this reason I found my middle school days to be
lonely because regardless of the fact that I had friends, my insecurities made
me feel that nobody could relate to me and that I was alone.
Low and behold
the next week I went to school after seeing Bring It On, and my school was
holding cheerleading auditions. Thoughts raced through my mind as I
contemplated if I should or shouldn’t take this opportunity. Before this moment
I had no experience in cheering on any level and my gymnastics skills were far
removed. Despite my reservations, I took the leap of faith and tried out. The
process was fun and thought that I may actually have a chance at making this
team. The results were posted at the end of the week and the banner with the 10
new members of the team were printed boldly on the walls of my middle school
and not one of those names were mine. I paced the hallways nearly a million
times in hopes that my name would appear and that I was just reading the poster
wrong. Nothing was wrong with this poster; I simply just didn’t make the team.
At this moment
my self-esteem was especially low and nothing or no one could make me feel any
better about myself. This was that moment where you knew you weren’t good
enough but you tried anyway just incase your instincts were wrong. Anyways I
went on about my life and aspired to be a cheerleader from afar. Then one day I realized that I wanted to be a
cheerleader for the wrong reasons I wanted to be a cheerleader to wear the
skirt, to be cute, to get the confidence I never had and have others believe it
even though I didn’t! That’s when I realized that cheerleading involved way
more than that and if I really wanted to do this I had to be dedicated and want
all that came with it. I knew that if I wanted to be a cheerleader I had to
take it more seriously and realize that it was about more than just a skirt but
a sisterhood and a commitment that I wanted to be a part of.
I thought that I
would have to wait an entire new year to try out for our schools team again;
however due to the high volume of people who lacked commitment there became
spots open just a few months later. This was it, this was my opportunity and
balls out I tried again. This time on the banner posted at the end of the week,
my name was on it and the pacing that occurred was for reassurance that I
actually made the team. Once I was on the team I began to believe that I was somewhat
beautiful and that I had this confidence that set me apart for the first time
in forever. From this point forward cheerleading
had been a passion, an outlet, and a self-esteem builder for myself.
Cheerleading allowed me to grow into the person I am today and it can honestly
be called my first true love. It taught me things that I couldn’t learn by
myself and it taught me how to believe in myself for the first time.
All of this just
goes to show that anyone can do anything. The valuable lesson to be learned is
that all you have to do is try and if at first you don’t succeed you just dust
yourself off and try again.
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