Growing up as an all-star cheerleader is not an experience everyone gets to have. All-star cheerleading was another world; one only knew about it if they were directly involved. You could never find the words to explain the feeling in your stomach before entering the competition floor, or mastering your standing tuck. You would show people outside of the cheerleading world videos of your routine just to prove that you did more than the traditional "rah-rah go team" but still had the title of a cheerleader.

With the tremendous amount of support from parents, coaches, teammates, siblings, and friends, I'm forever thankful for the opportunity to have been an all-star cheerleader. All-star cheerleading was more than just a sport, it was a lifestyle.

1. Glitter

Glitter here, glitter there, glitter everywhere! Glitter was a necessity in all-star cheerleading. Glitter was part of your makeup and uniform; you would have bottles of glitter spray for your hair and body. Even weeks after competitions, you would always find traces of glitter around your house or on your clothes.

2. Traveling

As you know, all-star cheerleading involved a lot of traveling. There were so many times where you had to miss school in order to leave early for a weekend competition. You became familiar with numerous areas because your competitions were held there annually. Some of your most fond memories of you and your teammates involved caravanning to Cheer Sport in Georgia, or chanting on airplanes together on your way to All-Level Worlds.

3. Bows

Ahhh, the ultimate cheerleader trademark: bows! Chances are you had a collection of bows in your room either in a box, or hanging around your mirror. At competitions, you traded bows with other teams to add to your collection. You always had an extra bow or two in your practice bag just incase one of your teammates forgot to wear theirs to practice.

4. 5-6-7-8

When most people hear "5-6-7-8" they think of a sequence of numbers. "5-6-7-8" will always represent a cheer count in your head. "5-6-7-8" suggested the beginning of a jump sequence or the start of your routine. When you heard your coach shouting this, you were to be in position and ready to practice. Hearing "5-6-7-8" was an excuse for you to run through your stunt sequence in your head when you weren't at practice.

5. Music

To this day, you still hear songs on the radio that were in your cheer music. You can still recite all of your old cheer music and often find CDs with cheer mixes; you utilized these in practicing your routines at home.

6. Cheer Hair

Your mom and sister spent hours upon hours setting your hair in curlers the night before competitions. You slept with rollers in your head, and woke up with a little soreness the next morning. You never had enough bobby pins, and often thought about how many were scattered on the competition floor.

There were times you had to go into public with your "cheer hair" and received stares from strangers. There were two conclusions: people thought you looked like a circus performer or, you were a cheerleader whose hair was done up for an occasion.Your hair was in full glory; you embraced the fact that people knew you were a cheerleader from your bow, poof, and teased hair.

Your mom had a signature "teasing brush" she used to help prop your poof on top of your head. You knew when she whipped out the hair spray, you had to hold your breath and cover your eyes for dear life. In most cases, you had to wash your hair several times to get all of the hair spray, bobby pins, and glitter out after a competition. On Mondays at school, you would have a classmate ask "uh... is that glitter in your hair?" and you would casually respond "yeah... I had a cheer competition this weekend" and that would explain it all.

7. Cheer Facials

There wasn't a mirror that you passed without practicing your "cheer facials". What is now known as the "duck face" was considered your "kissy face" for the judges on the competition floor. When your coaches would recap your scores with your team after a competition, facials were always something that could have been improved. You look back on pictures and laugh at how ridiculous your facials seemed to be.

8.Recreational Cheerleading

You probably started out cheerleading for the town's youth football team before entering the all-star cheerleading world. Part of the reason you became involved with recreational cheerleading was probably because your brother played football for the town; you were his #1 cheerleader.

Cheering recreationally is where you learned your basic "high V, low V, T, K, touchd own, clasp, and clap". You can thank this program for introducing you to the cheerleading world.

9. Team Unity

Being an all-star cheerleader meant you had about 30 non-biological sisters. Although many of you went to different high schools across the state, you still met up for haunted hay ride attractions, and 6 Flag adventures.

You knew what your teammates were capable of and didn't let them slack off. You had faith in your teammate's ability to complete their hardest tumbling pass. Your teammates cheered you on as you mastered your tick tock or double down. You had your ritual of special handshakes before entering the competition floor.

Even though you have lost touch with some of your teammates, you will always be thankful for the ways they inspired you as a cheerleader.

10. Team Pictures

Every all-star cheerleader remembers taking group pictures with the photographer before entering warm-ups at competitions. Lining up for the pictures was routine for you. In most photographs, you would be shoulder to shoulder with the same teammates; the photos were arranged from shortest to tallest.

Your team pictures are filled with silly faces and bright smiles, reminding you of how close you were with those around you.

11. Pressure

As a competitive cheerleader, the pressure was always at its full extent. The level of competition was high at such a young age. Although cheerleading is a team sport, each individual was responsible for successfully carrying out their part of the routine.

Backstage, you found yourself praying and encouraging one another to get rid of any pre-competition jitters. Every time you set foot on the competition floor, your adrenaline kicked in.

12. Parent Support

Your life as an all-star cheerleader was possible because of the financial and emotional support your parents provided. Your parents were your shoulder to cry on after a bad day at the gym, and arms to jump in after award ceremonies.

After your toughest practices, your parents encouraged you to keep your head up and stay motivated. If your parents missed a competition, you felt incomplete and as if something was missing.

There was nothing better than seeing the excitement on your mom's face in the crowd after hitting your stunt.

13. Coaches

Your coaches became your mentors; you spent countless hours with them. Even though your coaches were responsible for multiple athletes, they individually formed a relationship with you. Coach's jobs extended outside of the cheerleading world. They were involved in your academics, personal life, and genuinely cared about your well being.

Your coaches believed in you as an athlete and a person. You're thankful for you coaches acting as such dedicated role models.