Why I Want To Become A Cheerleader

For a great majority of my life, I have been torn between who I want to be, who I should be and who I am. I still couldn’t tell you who I am, but I can say that I have somewhat of an idea. This indecisiveness started during middle school, when I quit cheerleading. Since I was young, I knew I wanted to be an all-star cheerleader, or at least I thought I did. After years of hard work and dedication to my cheer squad, I quit cheerleading in the 7th grade. I don’t know what motivated me to do it, but I guess cheerleading just lost its pull on me. And although I still, to this day, reminisce on my experience as a cheerleader, I don’t regret it for a second. I spent the next two years exploring new sports and activities, in search of something to indulge myself in. In a way, I was also searching for myself. If I wasn’t the societal, exhilarating cheerleader anymore, then who was I? After trying and failing at numerous sports, such as basketball and volleyball, I found something that I had never considered, even though it was right in front of me all along- dance. As a cheerleader, I competed side by side with dancers. I never realized how much I envied them for their ability to incorporate so much creativity and emotion into their movement. Not only did they incorporate these feelings into their dancing but they could solicit
these same emotions from the audience. I took a chance by trying out for dance, having no clue where dance would take me, having no idea that dance would bring me closer to finding myself than anything ever had.
Through dance, I have found confidence in myself that I have never had before. I have also discovered my passion and my wholehearted love for this sport. My passion for dance doesn’t just show in the dance studio or on stage but also in my everyday life; I find it difficult to stand still when I hear music. I’ve also noticed my newfound awareness of beats and rhythms in music and a new way of listening to them. It makes me realize what a huge impact dance has had on my
life. Dance hasn’t just affected me introspectively, it has also brought me to some of my most cherished friends and given me some of the most phenomenal experiences. I’m generally not one to befriend everyone that comes my way, but there is a significant bond that is formed with those that dance alongside with you. Whether it’s the team and the necessary sportsmanship to be successful or the dancing itself, the people that I have danced with will always remain a part of my life. One of the greatest feelings in the world is the adrenaline and the excitement of being on stage, dancing. One of the most incredible opportunities that dance has given me is competing at The Dance Worlds every year, during the Spring. I have so many incredible memories and accomplishments that have been made at Worlds, my most memorable being my latest appearance at Worlds in May 2017, when my team placed in the top ten. And as much as I’d like to think that our performance and incredible placement is what made this event so memorable, the fact that I danced on stage at finals after breaking my foot backstage in warm-ups has definitely made the experience hard to forget. There is a part of me that wonders if quitting cheerleading when it became difficult was the wrong thing to do. But there is another part of me that is thankful that I made the decision to quit cheerleading, because there is nothing that I enjoy more than dancing. Dance has taught me that some things in life are worth the struggle. Dance has also become a part of who I am, and I wouldn’t be myself without it.