Disappointment

Disappointment. Defeated hopes and dreams. Yeah, it sucks. That's what I'm feeling right about now. Let me tell you why and what I've learned from this experience.

This Saturday was meant to be my second cheer competition. Our last chance to qualify for my state's cheer competition. We're not going. All because of some people who didn't really even care about going or cheering in the first place. I will never again be able to perform in front of a crowd doing something I've wanted to do for YEARS. And now, the girls that started this ball rolling laugh and joke about not having to practice anymore and how it had been such a waste of their time. I don't get it. If it was so horrible why did they do it? Why not just quit? Why drag all the rest of us down?

I am so disappointed with how these girls have acted. They could have walked away and the rest of us could have gone on to have more fun and compete and represent our school as it should be represented. But now, the squad is just a joke. People at other schools ridicule us. It's humiliating. I thought that being a cheerleader would be prestigious and I was so proud to have done it, to have made it. Now I'm almost ashamed to say I'm one of my school's cheerleaders. All because of stupid, thoughtless choices some people have made.

What really nails the coffin shut is that these girls have disrespected and hurt our wonderful coaches. Our coaches have worked so hard to help all of us and they have been there for us when most people would have just quit and given up on us. They have endured personal attacks on both their coaching abilities and their dedication to the squad from teenage girls (frightening, I know). They have felt persecution from parents and administration. They have had hardly any support from their squad. I hold them to high regard simply for what they have done for our squad and for me. They took a chance on me; never having been a cheerleader before. I wish they could know how awesome they really were.

This experience has really shown just how simple it is for a few people to ruin something for so many other people. And it is not fun. At all. To be so powerless over something so important to me really bites. I looked forward to competition more than anything else besides graduation and prom this year. And it's been stolen from me.