I had wanted to attend the University of Texas at Austin since before I could remember. I come from a family full of Longhorns, so it only seemed natural for me to go to school there as well. Throughout high school, I was a member of my high school drill team. Dancing was something that I genuinely enjoyed and had grown to love. Therefore, during my junior year of high school, when I was applying for colleges, it had dawned on me that dance was not something I was ready to give up just yet. I quickly searched UT’s Pom Squad and instantly fell in love… chaps, poms, sparkle tops, OH MY! I tried out for the team the spring of my senior year, and no amount of words would be able to fully encompass how excited I was when I received a call from the captain and co-captains informing me that I had earned a spot on the new team. My dream was coming true.

Once college began, there were a lot of days that I sat in my dorm room questioning if I belonged where I was. I didn’t know if I was cut out to be a pommie. I didn’t know if I just got lucky. Some days the dances wouldn't stick in my head, and I didn't feel good enough to wear the burnt orange and chaps. Being a pommie is not always the easiest thing in the world, but I can say that it is truly one of the best. Looking in from the outside, some people may not understand. “How many times do you practice a week?” they would ask me. I would simply reply, “five p.m. to eight p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, six a.m. to eight a.m. on Thursdays, and six thirty a.m. workouts three Wednesdays a month.” Every time I finished, I would almost always get the same response, which was wide eyes and a gasp. Of course, it takes time out of my day, but it is never a hassle. The truth is that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else anyways. You’ve got to have a true passion for whatever it is that you do, and mine is dance.

Nothing will ever compare to the first moment that I looked in the mirror and the girl looking back at me was, what we call, game day ready. This consisted of the football season chaps, hair as big as Mount Everest, lipstick, and a smile. It was a dream come true. It was one of the biggest games of the season, and I was given the opportunity to dance alongside the other girls on the team. Stepping out onto the field of Darrell K. Royal football stadium for the Texas/Notre Dame game was a moment that I will never be able to forget. The seats were filled, the fans were loud, and the stakes were high. I was a freshman and a rookie, and let me tell you that those two things are not very easy to handle all at once in an entirely new atmosphere. It was my very first game to cheer on the Longhorns, and I was definitely feeling those nervous jitters in the pit of my stomach. But, once the band began to play the Texas Fight song, I felt at ease because I knew that this felt right. I knew that I was home.

Being a part of Texas Pom has taught me a lot about myself. It’s showed me that things in life don’t always come easy in a beautifully wrapped box with a pink ribbon tied around. It comes with blood, sweat, and, honestly, sometimes even tears. But, in the end, you know it’s worth it. You know that you are where you are because you love it, and you can’t see yourself anywhere else. Sometimes following your dreams isn’t easy. It’s scary to think that you could be giving up so much for one uncertain goal. But, the truth is that you won’t really ever know the outcome. You won’t really ever know how beautiful something can be until you put yourself in the situation. So go for it, follow your dream, no matter how uncertain it may be, because you never know where it will take you. You never know, you may end up finding exactly where you belong.