The first thing I would like to clarify is that I don’t mean an actual cheerleader (although you could be both, obviously). I mean it in the sense that you are, or you know, the one in the friend group who has always cheered everyone else on and supported them, no matter what. It doesn’t mean they’ve agreed with all your choices (because you need friends who challenge you). But when you’re throwing your chips in and absolutely set on your choice of action, they have your back no matter the consequences. They’re the ones waiting for you at the end of the finish line of a race everyone knew you were going to lose. And you can bet they’re cheering like hell for you even when everyone is looking at them like they’re crazy. They’re the cheerleader.

I am not that person in the friend group. I will absolutely support everyone, but I will also be the one who says “I told you so” when something fails. And we need realists like that in the group (or so I tell myself to ease my own conscience). But my sister and one of my best friends are cheerleaders for their “squads.” So I’m surrounded by all these gung-ho people and let me tell you, I’m exhausted just watching them.

Because it is an exhausting job. They are in tune with what all their friends are doing, not just what you’re doing, not even just what that specific group is doing. So them being able to ask you about certain things you mentioned you were going to do months ago? Yeah they remember everyone’s itineraries. And they actually care if you achieved your goals or not. “Did you lose the weight? No? Well, you’re definitely getting there! Did you ace that exam? Awesome, your hard work will always pay off.” They remember. And they’ll push you or help you reach those goals, even at the expense of their own.

There are the times when the cheerleader will choose to be there for you, and miss out on something they wanted. How many times has my sister canceled some hang-out because I’m having a rough day and she wants to be there for me? Or my best friend has talked me off a ledge when he had his own studying to do? The answer is way too huge to fathom. But the cheerleader does it. They do it without regret and without bitterness. They do it happily and without thinking twice. They’re those type of people – the genuine people we forget exist in a world full of jaded cynics and chronic liars.

So if you’re the cheerleader? Thank you for your tireless support and thank you for making sure the rest of us don’t lose hope in the world. And for the realists like me? Please give some love to the cheerleader in your friend group. Because they need someone to cheer for them too. It’s like the catchphrase for that show Heroes: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”

Words to live by.

And to my favorite cheerleader – your frat boy thanks you most wholeheartedly.