Cheerleading

“Do you ever feel like breaking down? Do you ever feel out of place? Like somehow you just don’t belong, and no one understands you?” This song plays over and over in my head as I sit on those bleachers, my heart thumping out of my chest. We have competition in just twenty minutes that I should be focused on right now, but instead, my mind is settled on the text message I got from my boss saying, “Your last check will be mailed to you.” OH WOW! You must be thinking, “Oh my gosh what did you do?” Well, here’s the story.
I have known about this competition for the past three months, at least. I knew I was going to be out of town, so I asked for the day off, three months ago. Schedules come out every two weeks. It just so happened to be the day before we leave to our competition that I get the schedule saying I was supposed to work. Whoops, what do I do now? Do I call my coach up and tell her “Hey, I gotta work. Sorry!” Or do I let my boss know that in the hour I was supposed to be working, there would be an empty chair in that theater? These are the decisions running through my head.
Today, my blog is all about priorities. Now, I have been thinking about this for quite awhile. Like, should I go hang out with my friends, or stay home and watch that movie my mom has been dying to see? Or, should I go to practice instead of skipping school to go to the mall? Normally, I would just go with what I felt like doing, and not think about the consequences that follow.
Cheerleading is my top priority. Although, it might as well be officially over after going to state (and taking 9th place in case you were wondering). When I entered into high school as a terrified little freshman, cheer was the only thing I knew I could look forward to. Cheerleading was what gave me my place in this new life of mine. Cheerleading will always be the thing I will say is what created who I am today. So, when you ask me how I do it or why I put up with the “drama” I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you “it’s just who I am.”