So, here's something I haven't really thought about all that much. Why am I in cheerleading?
Whenever I talk to people about my life in USP and university, inevitably, I will usually make mention that I am in cheerleading. To which the standard response from anyone around me will be "You? Really? How?" They'll be perfectly capable of understanding what makes me able to join cheer (tiny size and all of that) but what they wouldn't be able to understand is why. I'm someone who's not the most preppy person. I would not be caught dead wearing frilly things, or waving pompoms about. I am completely opposed to doing the creepy forced super huge smile that cheerleaders seem to always have on, or squealing out cheers in obscenely high voices. If you ask me to go "Ready? Okay!" and wink and whatever, I'm more likely than not to give you a weird stare and then back away slowly from you as though you had a weird infection. That's me. I'm not a cheerleader in personality at all. Sure, I can shout and cheer for people, but I'm sure most of you will agree that that is pretty different from the smily bouncy thing that cheerleaders have to do.
So why am I in cheer?
I think it occurred to me that the reason I'm in cheer, what makes me keep going back, is those few moments that I'm in the air and I feel like I'm flying. I love that feeling of being airborne, that moment of your breath catching in your throat as you're launched from the safety of being on your two feet and into the air. I practically live for it. I love the adrenaline. I love the excitement. I love the freedom. I can't begin to describe what it's like. The thrill, the fear, it is absolutely breathtaking. I'm no longer trapped by the constraints of the world, or restricted by gravity. Those few seconds in the air, it feels as though whatever is weighing me down is inconsequential. It's my escape in this world of absolute boring and mundane and monotone. And for me, someone who feels so bogged down by everything that is, this escape is invaluable.
I love the feeling of flying, and that is why I'm in cheer.