I was a competitive cheerleader for about seven years, bouncing around from gym to gym. I worked my way up to become a level 4-athlete and was proud of myself for that.
There are some experiences you just can't relate to unless you were a competitive cheerleader such as the coaches, the practices, and of course, the atmosphere of the competitions.
People ask you to tumble all the time.
Whether you can do a tuck or back handspring, once people find out you have the ability to flip yourself in the air, they HAVE to see it. I get asked many times to teach people how to do a backflip but trust me, that's not something you can learn in a day. Also, who am I kidding, it's fun to show off sometimes, right?
You constantly want to explain the difference between sideline cheer and competitive cheer.
Though "cheer" may be in the name "cheerleader," we don't actually cheer for people.
You said you were gonna quit every year but never did.
This is how everyone looked at you when you said,"This is the last year." It never is till you age out.
You don't do normal jumping jacks.
Cheer jumping jacks are tight and clean! No bending of the arms!
You still remember routines you haven't performed in years.
Once you hear a song used in the past for a routine, you can start marking the routine.
Nike Pros and sports bras fill your drawers.
You'll never want to tease your hair again.
I always spent at least an hour trying to untangle that mess after competitions because all cheerleaders knew, "the higher the hair, the better."
You have a collection of bows.
I finally gave my bows away to some girls I know who also cheer, but man, did I have so many!
Feeling like you have the body of a 90-year-old.
Advil becomes your best friend.
You still speed walk because you only had an 8 count to walk across the mat.
GiphyIt's just something that stays drilled in your head.
 You probably still have cheer music somewhere on your phone.
You can still sing along to it, too.
 You tumble on the beach.
Who can pass up that opportunity??
