Cheerleading

By Shamika Hinnant

There is something strangely exhilarating about being under stadium lights on a Friday night in October. The sky is dark, and the only light on the field is coming from shining poles above. The fresh cut smell of grass and the look of tall field goal posts’ fill my heart with joy. This wonderful sport that I am speaking of is cheerleading! It’s who I am. It’s my passion and the air that I breathe. I have never loved anything more. When I first started cheering, I did it so I could go to football games for free, and so I wouldn’t be bored sitting at home. But now, I would rather die than do anything else.

My freshman year, I didn’t cheer because I was nervous and timid. Sophomore year, when I came out of my shell, I decided to go for it. No matter how nervous I was. I tried out twice for the team. But I stayed on as an alternate and improved myself. Later that week, I was given my uniform! Two years later, and I’m still on the team.

Being a cheerleader is the best feeling in the world. From my sophomore year until now, being on a football field was my home. Cheerleading made me feel like I broke barriers, mostly because; cheerleaders are stereotyped as being sizes twos, fours, and sixes. I am proud to say that I am none of those! Since my first day, two years ago, I knew that I had found my true love and home.

Through the years, I have found it increasingly difficult to tell my friends what exactly make me want to be on a football field at night, in fifty degree weather. They smile when I tell them it’s because I have a love for the sport. Cheerleading for me is a haven. It’s a place where I can shine, simply by lifting people’s spirits.

Cheerleading is about being a part of something. For me, it’s lifting a football player’s spirits after a lost game, and having the satisfaction of knowing I help put a smile on his face. It’s a sense of belonging. We may fight at times, but the feeling of connectedness between me and my teammates is uncanny to any other. Football players and fans are forever a part of my life, and I, am a part of theirs.