I'd Like to See You Try!

Cheerleading. The one sport that uses all three principles of fitness, and forces you to keep a smile on while you do it. Strength: we lift people in the air, we push off the ground to tumble, and we hit motions so hard our entire body shakes, we jump off the ground, bring our feet to the level of our shoulders or above, and manage to land without falling over. Flexibility: heel stretches, scorpions, bow and arrows, scales, toe touches, hurkeys, pikes, and hurdlers. Endurance: we manage to showcase tumbling passes, jumps, a cheer, standing tumbling, stunts, dance, basket tosses, and a pyramid into two and a half minutes of floor time.

This is a real sport.

Recently, a judge ruled that cheerleading is not a sport. I've never heard a more ridiculous thing in my entire life. We run, we jump, we fly through the air, we tumble, and we yell at the top of our lungs... and make it look good, with a smile. I'd love to see that judge get to a floor and throw a standing full, or even a standing tuck for that matter. I'd love to see him get through a two and a half minute routine, and still not change his ruling. Idiot. Cheerleading is the second highest injury rate in the country, only after football, which is one of the most brutal sports available in schools... and we're not a sport?

Delusional.

Maybe it looks easy, standing down on the side lines, chanting a memorized phrase a few times, then throwing some spirit out at the crowd. Think again. Our muscles are tense the entire game, only during half time do we get a break. We stand on our feet for at least three hours straight... smiling, and not moving outside of chants and spiriting. And of course when we do actual cheers, we get back into the stunting and tumbling aspect of cheerleading.

So, when that judge gets the courage to stand up and work half as hard as competitive cheerleaders and attempt the feats they find as a daily routine, and he fails, I'll just... smile because it happened.

Let Me Tell You About My Best Friend!

"Friendship doubles joy and halves grief." -Egypt

This Egyptian saying couldn't be any more true. With all the hardships that a single human being can go through in a lifetime, we would be lost without friends. Even in the past 16 years of my life, I've learned that.

My best friend, Sarah, has always been someone that could make me laugh. I've known her since kindegarden, and we've been friends since the first grade. I've always loved going over to her house, and nothing is boring when she's around, so I guess you could say she "doubles my joy".

But she "halves my grief" as well. Not too long ago, just the end of last school year, actually, I was going through a kind of rough time... and going over to Sarah's house seemed to cure my broken heart. She made me laugh for the first time, and she talked with me for hours on end. I don't know if I'd have healed from that event as easily if I didn't have her there with me.

You know you have a true friend when they can make you eat poptarts (which I HATE) after not eating in days.

At the time, it was really hard for me, but because of my best friend, I'm now able to look back, and just... smile because it happened.

Mini-Me

Like sire, like scion.

And as we know it today, like father like son. Well, i'm not a son... and I'm nothing like my dad... But I guess I could manipulate this proverb to fit myself, however, with me being similar to my aunt, Donna.

My aunt is in her mid-fourties now, but we have so much in common. She was the oldest child, just like me. Both of us are/were irritated by younger siblings. My aunt also attended Apollo High School, and guess where I'm sitting right now... If you look at a picture of Donna in high school, and me right now, there's a major similarity, being as we both have light blonde hair and big eyes. Also, in high school, Donna was an eaglette... and I'm a cheerleader, so we were both involved in school spirit.

As far as her personality today and its similarites to mine, there are quite a few to list. She loves to read, as do I. She loves to have a structured schedule, and so do I. She also loves to be around people... but not too much. Guess who feels the same way? She loves travel and try new things... It scares ME how much we're alike.

When I was younger, I was always called mini-me, just because of how much I was like her even in my younger years. And honestly, I take that as a compliment. I love my aunt's personality.

And to this day, when I'm called "Mini-Me", i just ...smile because it happened.

Roots That Run Deep

"A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place." - Ghana, Akan Proverb

For me, family is all you have at the end of the day. I know that no matter what I do or say, I always have them to support me, and I appreciate that more than most of my family will ever know. We are a little dysfunctional, maybe, but we love each other just the same.

When you're with your family, you don't really think about how important each person is. There is actually a specific role for each person, and you don't realize that sometimes until that small link in the chain is missing. On my mom's side, my grandmother holds the family together and cooks every meal, despite the fact that she shattered her right wrist and has heart problems. Papaw is the political conversationalist, and my aunts and uncles are still in their high school mentality, even though they are middle aged. My mom is the rebellious one, the one who still has a fire in her heart. My sister is the typical teenage boy-crazy text-sender, and I am the poster child of high school. Straight A's, cheerleader, Christian, talented in singing and piano player, tons of friends, and the overall happy person. It's more responsibility than it seems. I work hard to keep my family impressed.

My dad's side is a little more dysfunctional. They're a family of old money, and that's never a good thing for a family's bonds. My grandmother, who passed away in February of 2009 from lung cancer and surgery complications, held the family together, made sure everyone came to every family event, and cooked the best soul food I've ever tasted. Popa tries to take her place, but he's still recovering from the loss. My aunts and uncles on my dad's side are a little more mature than those on my mom's, but you can tell they don't have the joy in life that my other family does. My dad is like his brothers and sisters, my sister has the same role, and so do I. The poster child of teenagers. I work hard to keep them impressed, too.

So maybe neither family is picture perfect. There are internal conflicts and grudges that would be hard to understand if you weren't involved in the situation, even some that I don't know about yet. either way, I'm the poster child of high school. I'm the cheerleader, I'm the straight A student, the musician, the social butterfly, and the one who is constantly busy. It's kind of crazy, and I'm sure that in twenty years, I'll look back and realize just how crazy it is: how stressed I am now because of that pressure.

But I'll just ...smile because it happend.

Shut Up!

My greatest pet peeve. I was listening to a conversation between some friends at lunch last week... and I was a little disturbed by what I heard. And what's worse is that what disturbed me is common language today... But why?

I can deal with cursing, but the one thing I cannot deal with is when people use insults such as "retard" or "gay" as an insult... and still turn around and say that being mentally challenged is not a bad thing, and some even support gay rights... but still, gay is an insult? Why?

Using "gay" as an insult truly isn't a smart idea. It's a personal choice. It's especially unacceptable to use if you have friends who are homosexual, or support the homosexual rights. If you want to call someone or something gay... just find another word. Find something less offensive to say.

Personally, the "retard" insult is completely unacceptable. Would you say that to a child who truly does have mental disabilities? It's a joke to those who don't have to deal with a disability, but can they imagine how it really feels? When you tell someone that you are a "retard", just shut up. Rephrase it, and just say "I'm stupid," because honestly, that's what you are... especially if you think using that word as an insult is okay. Actually... using it at all isn't really a good idea, its derogatory in every sense of the word. So just shut up, okay?

And if I yell at you about it just ...smile because it happened.