Day1: Everyone is anxious, it’s the week that determines whether or not you’re in the stands or on the side lines, cheering on your team. You feel nervous but it isn’t over whelming, at least not yet. You’re pondering on what the material is going to be like. Will it be difficult? Will you get it? Will the girl next to you do it better? So many thoughts, questions, and feelings running around in your head, some bad and some good. Walking into the gym for the first time, eyeing all the other girls and determining who your competition is, seeing who could possibly beat you, then looking at the girls you know you can beat out easy and getting a slight satisfaction in the back of your mind that puts that little pep in your step. Seeing the instructor for the first time, learning the cheer and chant that’s frustrating but feels like triumphant victory when you finally get it down and coming home to show your parents. Then lying in bed late at night going over it a million times tempted to get out of bed and doing it one last time. Finally you know you have to go to sleep to be well rested for the following day.

Day2: Waking up you know you’re one day closer to the main event, with the cheer and chant you learned yesterday in mind, you carry on with your day distracted by the many thoughts cheering brings. Then finally the end of 8^th period and the last bell of the day rings, time for practice. Walking into the gym for the second day isn’t as nerve-wracking but still keeps you on edge. Then seeing the instructor for the second day dying to know what head ache she has in store for you today. Seeing her demonstrate the dance then mentally falling to the floor because it seems impossible for you to learn that by Friday. By the end of practice some girls have it and some don’t and if you do, you just feel ten times better about yourself and have the best feeling about being one step closer to making the team.

Day3: It’s hump day! It’s the middle of try out week, your half way to knowing your fate. Today is the day of review, and the first time performing what you’ve learned the past couple of days. With that on your mind you carry on throughout the day. Continuously going over the choreography and the motions of the cheer, chant, and dance because no one wants to mess up in front of competition. The time of day comes around to go to practice, so you put your cheer shoes on and you’re out the door and off to practice. You arrive and the instructor lines you and your group up to perform the material and as all the groups go you sit and watch and evaluate what you need to work on and what you need to do to be better than the girls next to you, determine what you can do just to make the judges look at you. Once you and your group are up to perform and you mess up, you can guarantee you will never beat yourself up more than in that moment. When you get home you know what you need to work on you’ll stay up until you get it spot on perfect and if you don’t get any sleep then so be it. You can never get this week back.

Day4: Today is the preparation day for the most important event of the week. Today is the last day to get ready and accomplish whatever needed to succeed tomorrow. You have to have your try out wear together, your shoes and bow sparkling white, and a good confident head on your shoulders. Today is mock try outs, which is an example and a run through for the big day tomorrow. The senior cheerleaders from the previous squad come in to judge, critique, and evaluate you to get you ready for tomorrow. Your stress level is at about 90% and your head is capable of exploding if you take in any more information about cheerleading. But if you make the team you’ll see that every sore muscle, every head ache, and every emotional break down was worth it.

Day5: It’s finally here, the day you’ve been dreading yet looking forward to, the day where everything is do or die. Try out day is here. You go through your day thinking of all the possible ways you can mess up in the motions or get hurt in your tumbling pass. Any small mistake can make or break you. Just one mistake can be the reason you don’t make the squad and all your hard work will go down the drain just like the make up your washing off because you just finished crying due to the fact that you failed. The time comes around to get released from class and start getting ready and face the judges. One by one the groups go and finally it’s your group’s turn, you’re nervous but you know that no matter what you have to give it all you’ve got. You enter the gym, and the chant follows, and you realize you’re the loudest one and you pray the judges realize it too. As the chant ends you’re already going over the dance choreography in your head, then the music starts. 5,6,7,8… The dance ends and that nervous smile you walked in there with becomes real. You did it! You didn’t mess up, but that’s only half of it. Time for individuals. You wait and wait until its finally your turn, and as you walk into the gym your confidence shines through. You walk out knowing you gave it your all. After waiting two and a half hours, the list is finally posted as you walk up to it closer, some girls leave crying and some stay smiling. Its your turn to look, and as your eyes scroll down the list hopelessly searching for your name, you realize the hard work paid off, and you made it.