Cheerleader Tryouts Reflection

In March of 2015, an important event was scheduled in my calendar under the title “Varsity Cheerleader Tryouts.” I had been a cheerleader competitively up until that point, and I was planning on concluding that piece of my life after the season ended. Though I had been a school cheerleader for two years already, I was anxious about the tryouts. If I didn’t make the varsity cheer squad, cheerleading would have had no part in my life for the next year. I could not tolerate the thought of having such a gap in my daily activities. As the week unfolded, I braced myself for some of the toughest days of my life. All of my preparation through the years would be tested on a single Thursday night.
After the clinic of tryout material on that Monday night,

my stress level had elevated. Several factors played into my emotions. Somewhere between twenty and twenty-five girls had opted to tryout. Little did we know, it was only for fourteen spots. We all had to prepare a cheer, chant, and dance in roughly two and a half days. Fortunately, the chant was not extremely difficult. The cheer was considered of medium difficulty. On the contrary, the dance was extremely difficult. Soon, we all found out that the dance would be a true game-changer.
I invited two of my closest cheerleader friends to come visit my house as soon as they could meet to review the tryout dance. I found most of my comfort in them because I knew that we were all going through the same experience. One of my friends was a fast learner, and took control of the process of helping me and my other friend with it. We all stayed at my house very late that night. The next night, we met at my house again working as hard as we could. Out of pure will to make the squad, we decided to meet the final night before tryouts to polish all of the material. We had not expected what really took place: the sharing of tears, fears, and a good nap.
All of the girls auditioning were nervous to some extent. I was probably the most nervous, just out of pure fear of not making the squad. My family, friends, and God, all comforted me through the process. My audition itself went smooth and successful. I left in full confidence of having done my best, knowing that I could literally do nothing more. My satisfaction prompted my sleep to come easy that night. My fate was already determined, just not revealed yet.
The school day seemed to last years on the day of results. After school, the list of the new varsity squad was posted online. I had never felt the kind of relief that I did when I saw my tryout number on the computer screen. I knew my next year would be secure. As I reflected back on the audition, most of the girls who did not make it had not mastered the dance. I felt truly proud of myself; I knew all of my hard work had payed off. Whenever I face trials now, I remind myself of that very moment: how it felt when determination met success. Now, I cannot imagine my life if I had not made it that year. I had so much joy come from my experience as a varsity cheerleader, which continues me even further through trials now. Mostly from this stressful, yet rewarding experience, I found that preparation and success are very closely related.