Personal Narrative: My First Cheerleading

Words: 1313
Pages: 6

Standing on a huge blue mat, I glanced to my left and right, only seeing unfamiliar faces. Turing forward I noticed the bare white wall, appearing to be getting smaller and smaller with every breath. My thoughts startled by the sound of the coach shouting out terms I didn’t understand. What was I doing here? Everyone around me seemed to be twice my age, twice as better, like they belonged here. This was my first cheerleading practice ever; I didn’t know what to expect. I was eight years old and only wanted to make friends; but standing here I felt alone and scared. My mind was screaming to leave, this wasn’t for me, but my feet wouldn’t budge. Turns out, that eight-year-old girl did belong there. As my cheerleading career grew into high school, I noticed the thoughts in my mind became harder and harder to suppress. I had, what my coaches called, a mental block. My body had the physical capability to perform the skills, but when it came time to do them I couldn’t. At every practice, my anxiety would rise as the entire team began to line up on the mat. I knew it was time to tumble; time to face my mental block. I stared at the wall in front of me, feeling the sweat build up on my hands as I tried to find the confidence to complete the skill. “Ready 5, 6, 7, 8!” my coach yelled
The second my body
…show more content…
If someone asked me what my fear is I would probably say snakes or sharks, normal fears, but maybe those aren’t my biggest fears. My real fear is of the unknown. I don’t like not having control over something in my life. Throughout the majority of my life things have gone as planned. I did well in school, I did a sport, and I got into college. I’ve never had something unexpected come in and shake my life up in a bad way. I’ve seen it happen to many friends; maybe I’m cautious because I’m waiting for something bad to