"Ready? Okay. We're gonna win today!"

This line may seem corny to some, but to my team and I, it's necessary to say after someone says 'ready."

Ever since I was little, I have been interested in gymnastics and cheerleading. However, I picked up my first basketball at the age of three, and that quickly occupied my life; I didn't have time for gymnastics or cheerleading. Besides, how do those sports even relate?

First and foremost, basketball and cheer relate in the sense that they are BOTH sports. I've heard people say numerous times that cheerleading is not a sport. The contact that I face while stunting in cheer practice sometimes makes me question whether I just came from a basketball practice instead. Cheerleading is just that intense. I mean, the soreness that I feel after cheer practice is a whole new type of sore.

College is a great time to try new things. I didn't have any type of experience in cheer, but I dropped basketball and joined anyway. I can now say it was honestly one of the best decisions of my life. I love each and every girl on my team, and on days that we have practice, my day is made that much better.

I've always loved football, and now that I'm able to cheer on my (very good) college team, I love it even more. I get a different type of butterflies in my stomach before a game, because I know if I mess up, my poker face is nonexistent and everyone will be able to tell. There is also a ton of pressure, and I must utilize my discipline skills, because I know if I drop my flyer, there will be serious repercussions. Thankfully, to this day, I have not dropped any of my flyers (knock on wood).

I've only been cheering for about a year now, but it feels like I've been doing it all my life. I wish I had picked it up earlier, because I would for sure be doing back handsprings by now. However, one of my goals is to successfully do a series of back handsprings before I graduate. I always find myself on Youtube looking at "how to" videos and watching cheer competitions. I also have an obsession with cheer shows/documentaries, such as the one about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Seriously, life goals.

Cheerleading is more than a sport. It's about pushing each other to be better. It's about trust. It's about not giving up until you hit the stunt you've been working weeks for to showcase in front of the crowd on Saturday's. It's about the team creating a bond that others simply wouldn't understand.

It's also about moving your back spot to a flyer and your flyers to bases. Shout out to my girls for being so versatile and not dropping me!

xoxo,

G.G.