I’ve learned the following lessons from your guidance: Believe in yourself. Dream big and then work hard. Make good choices and learn from your mistakes. When you’re wrong, admit it, and then make it right. At all times display honestly, humility, and humanity. Treat everyone like you want to be treated—how we treat those who can’t help us is a sign of your character.
Read MoreOn December 5, 2003, while driving due west, I witnessed the most beautiful sunset ever; the colors—pink, blue and orange—were all swirled together like a jarred sand sculpture you make as a child. That was the night my husband died and I thought the sun was setting forever. Only 27 years old and seven months pregnant with my first son, my heart carried the weight of grief and uncertainty. I remember the tears that soaked my shirt and my swollen belly beneath. My son was going to need a cheerleader – in the most fundamental sense of the word.
Read MoreWhen I was on the cheerleading team in high school, you taught me the values of teamwork, perseverance and dedication. You put me in positions to be elated with each win and disappointed with each loss I witnessed from our athletic teams. And through that, you taught me how to win and lose with grace and dignity. You taught me to never give up and that giving your all would often lead to victory, and if it didn’t, knowing that you had done all you could was never shameful, but merely a building block to prepare for the future.
Read MoreGrowing up, one of my mother’s favorite things to say around the holidays was, “You have to believe.” She was referring to the magical aura of Santa Claus and his yearly trip down our chimney with gifts, but the sentiment runs deeper. A person’s beliefs are rooted in what they value and cherish, what they know and feel to be true and shaped along the way by the individual’s personal experiences. What you believe is at the core of who you are, who you want to be, and how you interact with the world.
Read MoreEvery home game for the Panther football team draws sell-out crowds. And it’s amid these extraordinary conditions that the Permian cheerleaders flourish. Their skill level is incredible, and I can’t help but to compare their tumbling to the tumble-weeds you see in the fields out here: quick, lively, never losing momentum. Their pyramids and stunts are impressive, but not as impressive as their ability to excite and engage the crowd. Many of this year’s varsity squad members started their cheerleading careers wearing tiny black and white pleated skirts as they stood at the metal rails and mimicked the moves of the then varsity cheerleaders on the sidelines. They grew up always wanting to cheer for the Panthers and now it’s finally their time. “We love being part of a school and program that has as much tradition as Permian does,” says Amanda Stallcup.
Read MoreAt its purest form, cheerleading promotes all that is good and worthwhile in this world through encouragement, excitement and a dedication to the betterment of not just a chosen team, but to all. Cheerleading, coupled with my previous sideline experience, shaped my outlook on life. My principles and values were established long ago through weekly lessons in endurance, exuberance, and pain.
Read MoreI decided to keep a few of my favorite ones and donate the rest to a local women’s shelter – one that houses children as well. They accept ‘costumes’ so that the children can dress up and suspend reality for a while. It was my hope that some little girls could have a great time playing in my old uniforms and transport themselves to a happier place where they’d be on a soft grass field cheering on their favorite team, far from the cold floors of their temporary home.
Read MoreLike the tightly woven fabric of a cheerleading skirt, cheerleading is woven into the fabric of American history and culture. Cheerleading traditions run deep and its imagery, well, it’s as American as apple pie.
Read MoreMy name was nowhere on the list. Standing outside my junior high school with scores of other hopefuls, I kept staring at the typed list of names hung in the window. It had to be a mistake. I was meant to be a cheerleader. How could I have not made the team? I tried to fight back the tears, but they wouldn’t stop. At twelve years of age, I learned how it feels to work hard, dream big…and then have your heart swell with pain at the posting of 12 names—12 names that didn’t include your own.
Read MoreThis past week in Daytona Beach, Florida, over 250 college cheer and dance teams, representing 37 states, competed for the title of National Champion in the NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship.
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