Personal Narrative: My Gymnastics Bar

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.

Cheer Athletics in Plano is one of the most prestigious competition gyms in the country. There are other Cheer Athletics’ branches in other places like Frisco and Austin, but not one is as successful as Plano. It is the absolute best place to go for a serious cheerleader. The best and most experienced coaches work there and they are hungry to win. They expect every ounce of energy and athleticism to be left on the floor when we are finished performing. I have never had any problems with an authority figure until I started at Cheer Athletics.

During my elementary years, my second home was at the cheerleading gym. Each week, I would spend over sixteen hours in Shrewsbury, PA practicing with my cheer team for competitions. I was a member of Titanium Athletics, an allstar cheer team that trained to compete against other teams all over the country. Cheer was essentially my entire life for five years, and I had no idea how much my family and I would be impacted when I quit.

A setback I have recently faced was not making the varsity cheerleading team my senior year. I know it may not seem that big of a deal to some, but it was to me. I have been cheering since my 8th grade year, and to not make it my senior year was disappointing. When I realized I didn't make it, I felt many different emotions: confusion, denial, sadness, and anger. I stayed angry for a while, like my senior year was already starting off bad, and this was supposed to be my best year. An even though I knew I had other talents and could go on do so much more, it didn't feel right. I've gotten so accustom to going to practice and cheering at the games and seeing my close friends. It’s a different type of bond you have with other cheerleaders, especially

As a former gymnast, cheerleading was never something I planned on doing. In the gymnastics world, cheer was hated. Gymnasts everywhere claimed that cheerleading “stole” tumbling from us. So when I made the Junior Varsity team my freshman year, I expected the worst. Looking back, cheer has taught me more life lessons in the past four years than gymnastics ever did in the ten years I was a gymnast.

There I was on the block next to the High Bar. It was about 5:00 at night when my coach told me to do a Kip. As I got up on the bar my nose filled with the smell of chalk. I started to swing, and as I came out of my half turn I looked good. Everything seemed fine but as I came to the part of the Kip where I have to pull my legs up to the bar, I slammed my shins into the bar. My momentum was stopped and I dropped on to the mat, missing the Kip. I felt like I had let down my coach and I had let down myself too. That day I experienced failure. That failure made me want my Kip even more so I worked harder and had support from my teammates.

Thump! In a split second, I was lying on the ground. My head throbbing and my mind reeling. I had fallen from the high bars and slammed my head on the ground. I remember giving myself a concussion after that fall; I never wanted to get back on those bars. I had to do what I was afraid of despite the fear I felt in order to overcome larger obstacles in life.

I am a small town girl who has attended a private school in Lebanon, TN my whole life. I have been involved in many things at school to get myself out there and make a difference in my community. To get out of my comfort zone I joined the soccer team my sophomore year and auditioned for plays my junior year. Cheerleading has been a part of my life since fifth grade. My job was always to choreograph the dances. These activities helped me grow as a person and take on leadership roles.

From the first moment I stepped into the dimly lit gym filled with the sour sent of sweat as my curious feet hit the soft blue floor, I knew that this was where I belonged. There were gymnast frantically flipping left and right peacefully in total chaos and I couldn't wait to join them. My world began in the same place I spent countless hours a week ever since I was four, London Gymnastics Academy. I had a passion for defying gravity and taking ruthless risks alongside my teammates who shared the same insane passion as I did.

To become an athletic trainer, one must complete courses such as Human Anatomy and Physiology as well as other courses that pertain to this major. These classes will help in learning how the body functions. I will also have to pass the Board of Certification exam and must be CAATE certified I could also volunteer at sporting events to get to know the environment around the players, coaches, and spectators from a non-athlete point of view. This could prove helpful because an athletic trainer will constantly be around sporting events and usually close to spectators, coaches, and players alike.

There are several reasons why I am athletic. The ways I am athletic and stay athletic is through training and playing football, basketball, and baseball. First off, I train to get into shape. I do push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and many other exercises like that. Also, I practice all the different sports and do different workouts to get better. The first sport that comes around is football. I play quarterback and linebacker and have been very successful. The past two years the teams I have been on haven’t lost a game! Next, is basketball, and it is my favorite sport. I have played it for all my life and still play it today. I play point guard and I like to shoot. During my basketball years, I have made many buzzer-beaters and

Once upon a time, there was a gymnast named Skyler, and she lived happily ever after. The end. Well, it’s a bit longer than that.

Well my favorite sport is cheerleading .I love cheering for all kind of sport. Cheerleading make me fill very strong. I have been cheering for 6 years it fun but it is not easy. Dedicated is the key to be a wrongful cheerleader I spend long hours after school for competition and prating. To get better at what I love to do.IM a very happy person so I knew cheering was the thing for me. A lot of people say cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sport out there I would love to see a football player try it for a week. Since I’ve been a cheerleading. I’ve witnesses broken thumbs broken arms fractured ankle’s sprained necks countless concussions. And in the worse cusses girls end up paralyzed or even dead.

Everyone is unique and wants to find where they can fit in and excel. For me, it was a bit challenging. Growing up, I never had a “thing”, like everyone else. I had friends that were great singers, dancers, athletes, actors, artists, and everything else in the book. But I didn’t have a specific talent that made me special, so I set out to find one. In the eighth grade I joined every club I could find to see where I thrive. I enjoyed myself in each activity, but I still didn’t find a talent.

My brain goes silent. I forget my problems, my issues, my struggles, and everything that makes me feel dead inside. Nothing gives me more hope and happiness, then running on floor to hanging on a bar. From the darkness inside comes a light that feels like an eternal flame that can never be extinguished. Nothing can stop me from feeling more alive. Starting gymnastics has been the best decision I have ever made and has made me the person I am today. With every move, every skill, and every moment, gymnastics makes me feel alive.