Around the start of last summer, I came to a realization that changed the course of my senior year. After playing field hockey for nearly five years, I finally recognized that I did not enjoy the game. I did not love the sport for a while by this time, but my teammates from field hockey became close friends of mine – making it worthwhile. After learning this, most people would just continue on – I only had one more season left and maybe my senior year on the team would allow me to realize this hidden passion I always hoped to have – but instead, I made one of the best decisions I could.

I knew that I had to come up with a plan. You can't just drop everything you ever knew without a plan, right? So that is exactly what I did. Thinking for days on end how to go about dealing with my epiphany. Until the most wild and outlandish idea popped into my head. I was going to try out for the Varsity Cheer team and would put everything I had into my new crusade.

Starting with the basics of contacting the captains and coaches, my latest concept quickly became a reality. I officially played my last field hockey game on July 31, 2018 and the adventure into the wide world of cheer quickly began. The scariest thing about trying something new is that everything is strange and uncomfortable. My daily routine quickly changed, and cheer made me learn things I did not know prior and experience pain that had not been felt before. After multiple trips to the chiropractor and an introduction to physical therapy for the first time, the pain was not difficult to overcome because for the first time in a while, I felt all of my hard work pay off.

What they don't tell you about cheer is this. From the outside, cheer looks like all tumbling and chanting – people who just throw their bodies around and hope to land – but as a person whose tumbling repertoire is made up of somersaults and stunting ability is shaky at best, cheer is much more than tricks and chants. For me – a person who was hesitant to try out the sport (yes, it is a sport) – I am so proud of the decision I made nearly a year ago. After five years of field hockey, I learned that you should not spend your time and energy doing something that you do not truly enjoy, regardless of the friendships and laughs that come with it. However, my three months on the cheer mat taught me lessons about acceptance, confidence and passion.

I went out on a limb a year ago. Instead of my senior year containing field hockey and friends I was accustomed to, I had a blank slate with cheer. People generally do not seek discomfort because the unknown is a scary place – a place nobody wants to go alone. A year ago, I started my adventure alone, but quickly, I had a brand new team who had my back.

The only way to live a life free of regrets is to do anything and everythingthat your heart desires. Maybe it is cheer or a different sport, a job or another passion. Nevertheless, do not let anything or anyone hold you back, especially yourself. Start something new today and who knows, maybe tomorrow will be new and exciting or it may be a complete and utter train wreck. Whatever becomes of it does not matter because any new step is a step in the right direction.

Around the start of last summer, I was at a crossroads which was difficult at first but I quickly overcame it. Twenty years from now, I may miss my days on the field with my field hockey team, but I think it is safe to say that there is nothing I will miss more than my three months on the mat with my cheer team.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

-Mark Twain