While many of my peers spent their summers by the pool, I spent a great deal of time in my school gym with fifty other girls. Let’s just say anyone who claims that cheerleading is not a sport has clearly never watched cheerleaders practice. For hours every week, I ran miles in the blazing heat, ran cheers so many times I could chant them in my sleep, and most importantly, bonded with my teammates. A special relationship is formed when you are the only thing stopping your teammate from hitting that blue mat.
Before trying out for cheer, I was mesmerized as I watched three girls lift another in the air with such a fluid motion. However, a seemingly effortless action proved later to be much more difficult than