me as a cheerleader
I started cheerleading when I was 5 years old, so in kindergarten. I wasn't even the one to decide to do it... my mom just signed me up! I specifically remember not enjoying the first few years. I am a very shy person, and I was on a team with some older girls. By the way, the cheerleading team I signed up for was my town's local Pop Warner team. Pop Warner is a separate division than all star cheer. Anyways, I remember one time at practice, the coach pointed at me sternly, but as a joke. I went home crying. But, as the years went on, my passion and love grew for cheerleading. In 2010, I was 8 years old and it was my first year competing. That's when I started flying! That year we won 1st place at the county competition. I have to say, the older girls on the team loved me and thought I was so adorable, which I was! I continued Pop Warner cheer up until 8th grade. In December of 2014, I started all star cheer. I participated in half year at Diamond Athletics. I have to say, it wasn't that memorable of an experience. Like most gyms, they had much higher level full year teams. We were a level 3 team which is great for prep cheerleading. We attended 4 competitions, and didn't win a single one! The next year, I joined another all star program, called Spirit Explosion. That was a much better year. We also attended 4 competitions, 2 of which we didn't have anyone to compete against, but the other 2 we won 1st place against 1 other team. For now, it looks like all star cheer is over for me. It was too much commitment and over $10,000, including traveling, tuition, etc.