Picture a cheerleader. Now, think about how cheerleaders are depicted in movies. Are there any similarities between the two? Are there any differences between them? If there were similarities, you should take your idea of a cheerleader and throw it away because you're about to learn the truth about cheerleading.

Cheerleading is hard. I'm not saying it's hard in the whining-because-shaking-pom-poms-is-hard way, I'm saying it's hard in the get-smacked-in-the-face-and-keep-going way. I'm talking about lifting someone that weighs 100+ pounds and having them land on you in ways that make you bruise and bleed. Cheerleading is extremely mentally, physically, and emotionally draining; just ask the next cheerleader you see.

Let's just take a minute to acknowledge what cheerleading really is: people standing on other people's hands. There are three people holding a fourth's entire body in the air with just their hands. There's also a group of people throwing a girl into the air and then catching her, or better yet, there's a person holding another person, who is also holding another person. Feel free to add in the fact that these cheerleaders also have to throw themselves in the air, twisting and flipping in hopes of landing on their feet. Does this sound completely strange? It should.

Practices are long. You're jumping, stunting, tumbling and conditioning for hours. You're doing the same stunt over and over until you execute it correctly and then you're working to clean it up and make it look good. Up you're throwing your flyer, and down she's coming, onto your hands, arms, chest, shoulders, or face, whether you hit it or not. You're also running two and a half minute routines until you can't breathe. Two and a half minutes may seem short, but I can assure you it's not. Coaches will push you past your breaking point because stunts can't work without everyone working at 110%. You're always working toward perfection, but perfection is hard to come by. There's always someone better than you, no matter what sport. There's always someone who is stronger, faster, or cleaner than you are, so you work harder to be better.

While yes, many teams do cheer at games, there is more to cheerleading than just shaking pom-poms. Behind every cheerleader, there's at least one story. Next time, you should ask.