In July 2015, I was told that my cheerleading team was going to try and get a worlds bid to compete in 2017. We were told that THIS team was going to go not 19 of us. I was good enough to get them the bid but apparently, I’m not good enough to compete it.

Tryouts came along and they brought extra people to try out other than the team so they told us that some of us were getting alternated because there were too many. On August 5th, 2016, I fell on my neck and was in a neck brace and I was out of cheer for a month. I was alternated, which I understood because I got hurt. But then they needed another person — I was that person for a long time until they decided to cut the team to give the rest of the team a better chance, which was a load of bull.

They said THIS team was going, not 19 of us. It was unfair. I again was the alternate along with two other girls and then they needed another person, again I was that person and I was hitting it for the longest time until I was unable to practice once and got taken out. I was hitting the stunts the other girl wasn’t. The stunts weren’t hitting afterward and they kept her in. I have no idea why. Then they needed another person and I thought, "Well, I’m the base, they need a base, it has to be me."

They put the backspot in and took my friend out of her stunts to do gymnastics because that is all they care about. My friend was hitting her stunts, but nope. She quit gymnastics to stunt not to keep doing gymnastics. I’m happy for her she deserves it but I’m still upset. It was unfair and cruel but what can you do. I can’t say anything to my coaches in fear that I’ll never get to worlds because it is a personal decision. If they needed a base, it’s 50/50 chance that they would call someone else onto the team instead of me because they are cruel people. I worked hard I’ve come to every practice and worked my ass off just to be on the sidelines. The worst part is, is that none of the stunts are hitting and I know that if they would just put me in that I would hit them because I have hit them before but they don’t care, they know that I will continue to come and watch because of the fact that I love cheerleading. But they have ruined my love of cheerleading not just because I was alternated, because I was screwed over and deserve to be going to worlds. There are three pictures of me when I found out we got the worlds bid I'm so excited it was one of the happiest moments of my life. I’ve worked 7 years, I’ve given up my weekends and missed important events for the past 7 years for cheerleading and all for what? To be put on the sidelines?

I’m upset and I’ll probably never get over it. I think it hurt so much because it mattered so much to me.