It was March of my eighth grade year. The week that I have been nervous for my whole life is this week. It was cheer try out week. Ever since I was a little kid, I have always dreamed of being up on my own box at a football game, screaming WE ARE...COLUMBINE! I had done all the little kid cheer camps, I had joined the best all-star cheer gym so I could have ever shot I could at making the team. Although my tumbling had not progressed very far, I tried my hardest in motions and stunting.
My week had actually turned out to be fairly easy. The cheer wasn’t hard, the dance was fun and up beat, I had thrown my best tumbling and I was ready for final try out day. But as soon as I walked into the school that early Saturday morning, I thought I could puke everything up. I was queasy and dizzy, I was absolutely freaking out. My whole freshman year would be based off of these moments in front of me, was I going to be a cool Varsity Cheerleader, or was I going to be a girl who started out on JV. I would usually have no problem with that, but I had many upperclassmen on the Varsity team, and with the reputation of the JV cheers from the year before, I wanted, no needed to be on the Varsity team. I kept running through the dance in my head, the fight song, the cheer, everything, and I couldn’t remember any of it. All I could hope is I had a judge that wasn’t the Varsity coach.

I walk into the gym, it was hard to breath, it air felt intense and serious. I never thought it was possible to be that nervous. I went in, and of course, I had the Head Coach, Tam, as a judge. “Okay Ashton, you can do this, you have been practicing non stop for the past week you know everything. Your fine,” were the only words going through my head. I needed to relax. I heard the little drum noise for the fight song, within the first three motions I messed up, but I picked back up and I was fine. I hit every motion in the cheer, solid, plus a backhand spring which I hadn’t warmed up yet today. Then, we had to do a jump combination with tumbling. We could do any jump we wanted with a tumbling pass connected afterward. I figured, I have done this before, this is fine, well, the last time I had done that I was about ten, I hadn’t done one in over three years, so my jump tumbling combination didn’t go so well, which had me worried. I had to stunt my heart out if I was going to make this team. I did pretty well on stunting, considering I hadn’t based more than the three days of practice, I had usually been a back spot, but I was too short, so I had to base.

I walked out of the gym, looking down and all of the girls came up to me, asking what happened. All I kept thinking about the jump catastrophe and I didn’t know what to do. Everyone said they were sure I rocked it and I am defiantly on the team, but I wasn’t so sure. I don’t have half the tumbling the other girls had, I’m not the strongest stunter, and the only thing I felt good on was dance and cheer.

The three hours we had to wait were probably the longest three hours of my life. I had never been so scared, nervous, and excited in my whole life. It was finally time to call the hotline. I heard Tam’s voice and I freaked out and through the phone down and hung up.

I couldn’t do this. I knew I made JV. I knew it. I called again. I had to do this. I listened. I counted 10 names and I heard Ashton Everly. But wait, did she do JV first or Varsity first? I had to call again. I paid attention this time. I couldn’t believe my ears. Ashton Everly was on the Varsity list. I did it. My life long dream has finally come true. I was so excited and crazy that I started crying. My life was basically set for my high school life. Having a senior brother and a sophomore brother, I knew all the upperclassmen, so they couldn’t be mean to at least one freshie. And I had a team of twenty upper classmen on my side no matter what. When I tell people I made the Varsity team, nobody believes me. The only reaction I have gotten is, “Varsity? As a freshman? You must be so good!”