Dunbar Dance

I waited weary in anticipation of what name would break out of the happy-go-lucky collegiate cheerleader’s boisterous mouth as he was announcing the two lucky 2017 National Cheerleading Association All Americans out of all 4 Belton cheer squads. I replay this moment in my most vivid dreams, feeling the excitement of the halcyon moment grow greater and greater as the nerves and emotions grew stronger and stronger. A moment as imperative as this showed me in the most transparent way that hard, continuous work and growth pays off in many more ways than one.

The next seven minutes could determine what my 7th grade year will look like. 11 other girls, competing for seven spots on the JAJH Cheer Team. My hands were shaking, and I was so nervous inside. What if I don’t make it? What if I make myself look like a complete fool? Falling on my face, tripping, doing the wrong cheer, all of these factors were racing through my mind. But I had to plaster that smile on my face, black shorts, white shirt, bow, tennis shoes, I was ready. Routines rushing through my head, one after the other, over and over. Five, six, seven, eight, one… Three days of practicing and learning the material for those next seven minutes.

It was a Friday evening; our team gathered before the competition started in a couple of minutes. We all gave “good lucks” to one another and off we were to the competition. After what seemed like days, it was time for the award ceremony. We are able to see our

I’ve been able to travel to places I’ve never been before, to bond with ladies who share the same passion as me, and of course to grow as a dancer. One of my most memorable dance experience’s was competing in my first national dance competition my sophomore year in high school. I was able to compete with thousands of teams from across the United States and even a few teams from other countries. I love the competition atmosphere and the moments I have to bond with my teammates. There’s nothing that can compare to dancing in front of thousands of people underneath those stage lights. The adrenaline rush I get is indescribable and to know that I’m sharing the dance floor with thirty-four other ladies that have the same goals as me is unbelievable. One of the best moments at the competition was walking away as third runner up overall when we competed against over 200 teams. Another memorable dance experience was when I went to dance camp at Oklahoma State university my senior year. I remember the very first day of camp they ran out of food and we had to order pizza to our dorms. The worst part about this was that we had to be performance ready within an hour and try to eat at the same time. It was extremely frustrating and stressful but at the end we performed and received our bid for nationals in Orlando, Florida. I honestly believe that the most excellent

I remember practices were sometimes a dreaded event. It was only thirty degrees in the ice arena and it’s hard to practice with your coat on. The warm up lap was the worst part of it all, because no one liked to run. I remember we would slip and slide while trying to field grounders and cringe if we missed

I refused to cheer too much because I know it would drive my focus away and it was best to stay humble. I reminded the offensive team this because it would be our hubris if we let our victories envelope our heads. By the end of the final quarter, we had won our game by only a 2-point conversion. The cannonade from my chest was still lunging towards the outside world. Throughout the game I feared failure, yet I overcame it. Realizing that my role was more influential than I known previously, I adapted to the pressure. I reflected on my own performance and knew I could do better. There was so much I could improve on and I was determined to be the

The red curtains open to reveal a blinding bright spotlight and a packed arena. Getting to the National Championship an immense amount of preparation. We had two minutes in front of the judges. We put our hands in the middle of our circle. For the last time of the season, we chanted “LHS cheer!”, and then we were off. The crowd was silent with anticipation. The routine felt like second nature and we ended up doing well. We made it to finals and ultimately took fourth place in the nation. It the first time in five years that our team had placed. It was a long journey getting to this point.

As senior year approached, I had made the decision to tryout for Harlingen High School’s cheerleading squad. Being placed on a team of thirty-two girls, it was surely unavoidable to become caught up in disagreements. For instance, in June of 2015, our squad traveled to Austin, TX to attend UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) cheer camp. At camp, the five seniors on our team each competed for UCA All-American, an award given to select individuals through a tryout process. Later, during camp, the cheerleaders who happened to make All-American were announced. It was soon discovered that each five seniors had received this award. I assumed everyone would be full of joy. However, to my amazement, the atmosphere appeared much different.

We would wake up around 7:30, eat breakfast, and then head down to the high school to teach english. This is when we really realized that our plans were going to go down the drain. Within the first 15 minutes of teaching english, we were no longer with our planned age group, and were teaching basic english to eighteen to twenty two year olds. We taught until noon, and then headed back to the house for lunch, and four hours of free time. Some of us slept, because of the crazy heat and humidity, and some of us crazy folk went down to the soccer field to play soccer and take pictures (the taking pictures part was me :) After a couple hours of soccer, and jump roping and pictures, we headed back to the house for dinner.

“First in State and District, the Lone Star Academic Challenge Champion is….Richland Elementary School!” Cheers and claps erupt through the crowd and I feel my heart pound. A ringing resounds through my head as everything slows down. I feel my body being dragged up the stairs by my teacher. A gold medal is placed on my head and rests on my shoulder, my hands are shook and I read the words “Congratulations” on the announcer’s lips. Speed returns to normal and it dawns on me: we won. My team won first place. I let out my delayed reaction of jumping up and down, screaming in delight as a smile graces my face. I feel a tap on my shoulder and my head turns so fast, I think I got whiplash. A Texas-shaped trophy is handed to me and my smile grows bigger as I rip the trophy from the announcer’s hands and wave it around, yelling, “We won!” over and over again.

sat on our beds while we reminisce about the good old times. Reminiscing and telling funny

I liked to play games with my friends and sister like battle ship and hide and seek. We liked to go our Grandma and Grandpa’s house we ran around and played soccer.

We were heading back from our field trip up in Golden. We got back to school and the teacher said we could go outside for recess until the end of the day. We headed outside in the nice, hot, but dry air. Artie, Spencer,(Two of my friends) and I were playing around in the field. We were chasing each other.

The team was ready, we had been working extremely hard for the past seven months for this. We were all in great shape and very rested. A few of the returning players were meeting me at my house to carpool to the final game of the state championship tournament. Everyone knew that the hard work had paid off when we won the semi-final game the preceding day.

It was time to take the group photo with our trophy. The team gathered in rows and smiled. We took one holding up a one for first place and then with a double U for the win. Then the fan section surrounded us for a group photo. After we took individual photos and the crowd calmed down, we loaded the bus to return to Eureka in victory. We were escorted