Once you have been a part of cheerleading for most of your life, moving on from it is hard. You've become accustomed to so many different habits, that after it's all over, you forget how ridiculous some of those are once you're no longer cheering on the field or on the court. I found myself having to talk myself out of certain hairstyles or outfits in college that would have most likely drawn a question or two from a passing stranger. Here are some routines I had to come to terms with and stop after I retired from my cheering days:
1. You feel the need to use as much hairspray as possible
Every. Single. Strand. Of hair has to be completely glued down to my head, right? No, not anymore. Let those flyaway pieces have some breathing room from now on.
2. You want to wear giant bows every time you put your hair in a ponytail
We all owned twenty or more different bows, didn't we? I hate seeing them sit around now. I wore them all the time at school!
3. You do a split as a form of stretching, and then recognize that isn't "normal" in the real world
Doing your splits feels so great, especially before a run. However, not everyone can do them, especially normal gym-goers. To avoid awkward stares, just do those at home.
4. You grasp the fact you won't "rule the school" anymore
Admit it: We all thought we were the most popular people and that every kid in school wanted to be our friend. That confidence boost is shot down once you get to college.
5. You have the urge to try on your old uniform to see if it still fits
I need to stop fantasizing about the good old days when I looked cute and skinny in my uniform. I'm scared to think if it could even zip up anymore. If it could, I'd do a little dance, like the one seen above.
6. When you see people with little to no spirit at sporting events, you want to start the "Be Aggressive" cheer
Come on, people. We taught you better than this! Come on now, let's start a cheer together. 5, 6, 7, 8! Be aggressive, B-E AGGRESSIVE.
7. You reminisce on those spend the night cheer camps you went to
Weren't those the absolute best? We lived, breathed, ate, and slept cheerleading for a solid 48 hours at a cool local college. We slept in dorm beds and learned new cheers that we practiced all through the night.
8. You hear a song and think, "this would make a GREAT cheerleading dance song"
You listen to a new Pitbull or Beyonce song and want to choreograph a whole new routine...and then realize that you would only be doing that for your own personal benefit now. *Sigh*
9. You miss your team and all the fun times you had
Aw, girls...can we please all get back together soon? Let's talk about all those stunts we dropped and how many miles we had to go run on the track because of it.
