"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." This is one of my Dad's favorite things to say to me. When faced with an obstacle, that quote was always in my mind. It means don’t let anything keep you down- stand up every single time you fall until you stay on your feet. Take that failure and use it as encouragement to rise up stronger. My father’s words helped to push me through a time of deep disappointment.

From age seven, I had cheered on my grade’s football team every Sunday, excited to be in on the action. Every year there was a clinic, in which the high school varsity cheerleaders taught us cheers and motions, and we cheered with them at regular season high school games. I admired those girls; they were everything I wanted to become. So I cheered for eight more years, gaining new skills and making new friends along the way. By the end of the final year, I had a goal in mind. I was determined to make the junior varsity cheerleading team for my freshman year. I believed I was a shoo-in, as I had been cheerleading for a long time. But I was wrong!

When the day came for tryouts, I was trembling all over. Although I had learned the cheer and dance days before and had practiced many times, it didn’t seem enough. Everyone trying out was divided into groups of three to perform before a panel of judges. The cheer was first. I started off strongly, with a loud voice, but then I messed up a motion. My voice slowly got quieter as I lost confidence. I wasn’t as loud as the other girls, nor was I as peppy. I finished, but I knew I had done poorly. Every other piece of the tryout went well. Thirty minutes later, I was called in for the results. The head coach told me my jumps weren’t high enough, my cheer wasn’t strong enough, and as a result, I didn’t make the team.

Thick tears dripped down my cheeks as I left the room. My dream was shattered. What would happen now? What would I do? This was supposed to have been my plan, my life. To make it worse, my best friend made the team. There were too many sophomores, and a lot of freshmen were cut. A couple of girls who made it had never cheered in their lives, but they had tumbling experience. It felt unfair. I was devastated. The crying continued into the night, and I was too embarrassed to go to school the next day. I believed my cheerleading career was completely over.

When I didn’t make the team, my Dad said his favorite line, which this time struck a chord in me. He said, “fall down seven times, stand up eight.” I realized that even though I had failed to make the team of my dreams, I could carry on even stronger. I found another cheerleading team I could join which made me even happier. The new team gave me confidence by challenging me both physically and mentally. I worked extra hours with my coach to learn tumbling, and conditioned daily to make myself stronger. It allowed me to express my personality through cheer and gave me the opportunity to travel.

Not succeeding changed my mindset. I realized that I couldn’t always win and get what I wanted. Rather, I had to work for it, pushing through every obstacle. I became stronger through the next year, and worked on everything I needed to. I have come to realize that I never really failed in the end. I just learned that to fail is an opportunity to learn more, work harder, and later succeed. I will reflect on this experience throughout my college career and will be able to overcome any obstacles that come my way.