1. Stereotypes: We can thank the media for this one. Why is it that the mean girls and the dumb blondes in movies and television shows are almost always cheerleaders? This has given people the wrong impression of us, and has often caused a lack of respect for the sport and its athletes. Cheerleaders have to constantly work hard to break these generalizations.

2. Being Sore ALL. THE. TIME: There are a lot of people who think that cheerleading only consists of jumping around and yelling “go team!” But that just isn’t true. We tumble, we stunt and we work out almost everyday. Cheerleading is a physically demanding sport, which leads to us waking up with new muscles hurting every morning that we didn’t even know we had

3. Fear Of Missing Out: “Sorry I can’t, I have practice,” is a phrase that all cheerleaders are used to saying. Cheerleading takes up A LOT of time. If we’re not at practice, we’re at games, competitions or community events, so we often feel

left out when our friends are doing something fun with out us.

4. Balancing Commitments: On top of the time spent at practices and games, cheerleaders also have school, work and other extracurricular activities. Trying to manage all of these commitments at once can sometimes be overwhelming and stressful.

5.Saving Money: Cheerleading is an expensive sport. Instead of spending our money at the mall shopping for a cute new shirt to wear out on a Saturday night, we’re probably at the Nike store buying athletic clothes for practice. Oh, and don’t forget about all of the money cheerleaders spend on hairspray, makeup and IcyHot.