I Don't Like Leaving The Ground, Now I'm A Cheerleader

Let's clear a few things up.

I'm not afraid of heights.

I'm not afraid of leaving the ground.

It's more the process of coming back down to the ground that scares me.

So when I signed up to participate in a cheerleading competition for charity, I definitely didn't expect to be a flyer for all of our stunts - much less flying in a toe touch basket!

Why did I continue and agree?

I guess I never agreed to myself that I would willingly fly. I agreed with my coach to continue to be a flyer because we desperately needed one, but I never agreed to myself that I could do it and be comfortable leaving the ground in so many different ways.

Also, the event was a friendly competition between different organizations, and all for charity at the end of the day - what's better than that combination?

After two months of weeknight practices, many bruises, many wobbly moments, we performed our two minute routine with our five stunts.

I'm proud to announce that not only did all of our stunts hit, but we also placed 3rd and helped raise over $32,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

I hadn't told my family that I was flying, all they knew was that I was participating in a cheer competition with a dance sequence and a jump sequence. You can imagine their surprise when I sent them the video afterwards!

How I got over my fear of leaving the ground and coming back down?

Honestly, I watched routines from "Bring It On" to help envision how I should look in the air. I also just pretended I was okay with it, that I wasn't this girl that was afraid of leaving the ground and - possibly - falling face first on the ground.

They say that college is the time where you reinvent yourself and discover who you truly are. Apparently I am a person who doesn't mind leaving the ground and coming back down, it's actually fun - once we get over the few wobbly mishaps in the first week of practices.

One piece of advice that I will pass from my experience onto you reading this:

Go out and do something that you never expected you would've done a year ago today!