¨Okay the next group can come in.¨ 

They come into the gym and stand in front of me to give me a brief description of themselves. One was around 18, the other was about 21 and the last girl was 27. They all are trying out for the D1 competitive cheerleading team. It's something about them though, it's like I've met or seen them before but I haven't. And they're different styles really grabbed my attention. The younger one must've cheered before because she's wearing old gear so that she has some type of experience. The middle aged one was kinda calm but she was very diverse with her skills and coordination. The older one seemed like she didn't want to be here fully, especially when she came in on her phone. 

¨Now we're gonna do individual interviews, so whoever wants to come up first can.¨ 

So the one that stepped up first was the middle aged one. She starts to tell me about herself, so she's a very smart girl who has about 3.8 gpa which is awesome. She is in school majoring in nursing and business and she is going to graduate in a couple years. Then she will start her nursing career and open a business like she always planned to. She has been cheering since she was in middle school and wants to continue cheering and maybe even coach her own team, have her own gym and compete. She even opens up to me and tells me how she deals with depression and anxiety and cheerleading is her way to escape. I really love that she can open up to me and tell me about her issues and how this sport helps her with her mental health. She also opens up about her sexuality and says how she likes both sexes which doesn't bother me at all im all for it love is love to me. You like it, I love it pooh. 

 ¨Okay thank you so much for telling me about yourself, you can come back in about 30 minutes¨.  

She said no problem and sent the next person in for their interview. The next person next to come in was the older girl… remember in the beginning how I said she seems like she didn't want to be here, well here's even more of a reason why. As she came back in she was eating chicken and otp. I asked her if she was ready to come now or send the other girl in. She claimed she was ready and sat her food and phone down as she began to talk. She tells me how she has a baby who is about 9 months and she's stressed. She stressed because she doesn't want to give up, she’s still in college and taking care of her baby. She said she doesn't regret the baby but it wasn't planned and it was too late to get rid of it. But she does have a lot going for herself, her own business, own place and car. She does have a bad attitude. She admitted it to me but it's because she deals with anger issues. She tells me how she goes to this group every monday and friday to talk to people and they all talk about their problems. There's a lead and she directs them in which ways to go and how to handle their problems. So maybe I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and get to know someone first. But what I can say is that she has a lot on her plate already and this team is just gonna make it harder for her. She then continues to tell me how cheer is something she loves and wants to just continue to do. 

 “Well thank you so much hun for telling me about you, your problems and how you want to cheer. You guys can come back in once the next girl comes to get you.”  

She said, “thank you so much for the opportunity” and sent the last girl in. As the youngest girl comes in she’s all smiley and she tells me,  

“ I see you saved the best for last lol.”  

I answer, “ if that's what you wanna say, come on tell me about yourself”.  

So she’s telling me how she’s been cheering since she was about 5 years old, competitive and for basketball games. I tell her that it's awesome and she continues. She wants to cheer for us because she doesn't want to be like everyone else. She wants to go far with this cheerleading. She wants to one day have her own team or have her child when she's older go as far as she wants. She also tells me she's doing this for her grandma. Her grandma used to come to her games and used to tell her to take cheerleading all the way even to college. When her grandma passed away it made her even more dedicated to it because that's all her grandma asked of her. So she was going to fulfill her grandma's wishes so she could look down and at her and have even more reasons to smile. 

I tell her, “thank you and to have the other girls come back in”.