Cheerleading Moment

“Cheering will get you nowhere.” That is what I was told when I wanted to try out for cheerleading. Yet, I never really knew how much of an impact trying out for the cheerleading back in 7th grade could change me for the better. One moment of courage changed how I talk, interact with others, and how I handle situations. Before I tried out for my 7th grade cheerleading team I was an extremely unconfident, young girl. I did have friends and would talk to them a lot, but they were people I had been around for years. Anytime I met someone new, it would only be because they were friends of my close friends, but I didn’t always talk to them, I would just stand or sit there and not really say anything. If I had classes with no one I knew, I would never talk to anyone unless I was forced to. I had plenty of amazing opportunities that were offered to me, but the lack of confidence I had had held me back from doing things that could have benefited me later in life.

At first I was not planning on trying out, but after a little encouragement from my mother and hearing all about from the coaches at a meeting, I took the step to apply and go for it. When the first day of tryouts rolled around I was extremely nervous. My friend, Brooke, and I stuck together side-by-side the entire time. Throughout the first tryout day, I tried to stay in the most crowded part so that I wouldn’t stand out while learning the material, but close enough to where I could still see the instructor, but what I wasn’t expecting was for the instructor to switch up the line up to where I ended up in the front. I messed up so many times while Brooke was doing almost flawlessly and it made me really insecure to the point I wanted to grab my things, leave, and never come back, yet I