All-Star No Life

[kickdblcj]

"There is no such thing as going "HARD/PARTYING" in my life. I spend my weekends pushing my body to its limits and tearing it apart. All for the chance to be a world champion.

I spend my weekends 100+ miles away from my friends and family at cheer practice.

I have no social life.. Just the life of an All Star Cheerleader.. "

Its really easy to become completely consumed with the cheer world (practices, tumbling class, flight school, competing) but do you ever wonder if you will one day look back and regret not getting to live the normal "teen life". Do you ever wonder if its all worth it? I know the simple answer is "yes I love what I do" but what about when its all over, we cant cheer forever. All of these injuries will eventually catch up to all of us. What then?

 

[CIAgiraffe]

I have been cheering for 9 years and now I'm a freshmen in college. No matter what I will never say I regret giving so much time to cheer. This is truely what I love to do more than anything in the world. Yes my body is hating me for it, but that still won't change my mind. Cheering has taught me more then anything else could. Such traits that will help me in the future when I am going for a job like will power, bravery, leadership, team work, always wanting to better myself and pushing myself to do my very best. those are just the start. Eventually i will have to give it up, but I will always look back with no regrets no matter how much my body hates me for it

 

[Mamarazzi]

One day your knees (or ankles or wrists or social life) might regret the energy and time you've put into cheer. But I guarantee your heart would regret it more if you didn't.

 

[BubbleToes]

I think if you're obsessed with Allstar cheer or any sport for that matter, your only regret in later years would be if you let it all go to live a normal "teen life". Anyone can live that life. The heart of an athlete is unique, and stays with you for a lifetime. Take it from someone who had no choice but to give up a sport due to injury. The "if onlys" still haunt me to this day occasionally......If I had given it up for no reason but only just to live a normal teenage life, I think the regret would be even more.

 

[D.Jones]

I don't regret cheering, competitions etc. because it was an activity that I loved now I'm coaching. My mom put my sisters and I into cheerleading to 1. give us an activity and 2. get away from the negative crowds. Cheering has truly changed my life because I'm one of the few who "made it out" meaning that I live in a not so good place and girls my age and younger are pregnant now or having their second child etc.. Yes the injuries do catch up but I wouldn't regret cheering. Some people claimed I had no life because every weekend I had a competition or I had practice but at the end of the day they still haven't done anything with their life. And yes I did and still do have a "social life" outside of cheerleading but I'm glad it was a sport that I still love and it was something to do to better my life.

 

[WisconsinIsFierce]

I always think about this. I think we're kind of like young celebrities who give up their childhood to sing or act. You sacrifice one thing to experience another and cheerleading is what we love to do, so why not? What's so cool about being normal anyways, I gave up on that a long time ago. I still try my best when I'm not cheering to do normal teenage things with people outside of cheer because I do realize one day that might be all I have unfortunately since you can't cheer forever.

 

[WorkToWin]

Why would I regret living out my passion? I love cheerleading. Yes, sometimes I would rather go to the big party than practice early the next morning. In 80 years though I will remember Worlds, NCA, and my team more than any party or "normal teen" things. It's my life.

 

[Angelica]

I believe cheer teaches you to focus, prioritize your time, builds confidence and work hard. My social life is cheer. All my best friends cheer.. The people at school just don't get my life. I've learned that nothings better then having friends that love something as much as you and that also understand all the "teenage drama".

There are times I wish I could live in a world of just cheerleaders -.-

 

[cheerstalker2]

My CP absolutely loves cheer. She has been doing it for 10 years and cant imagine stopping. She is 15 and assistant coaching so she can continue with cheer when she ages out. As a parent, I definately worry about her injuries in the future.

 

[moniicaaxox]

i never go out with my friends from school cause all they want to do is party, i dont have time for that im either too tired,sore, or have practice the next day, instead i go over friends house from cheer and make up cheer routines on trampolines or just sleep at home. Im so happy i choose cheering cause i see what my "Friends" from school are like now and im glad i got out of it all. I dont regret it at all.

 

[taarree]

I feel like it keeps us out of trouble if anything. The pressure society puts on us to do certain things is taken away by our passion for cheerleading. It also helps us to see things differently, like the fact that we are all a part of something bigger than ourselves, and knowing that keeps me away from all the "normal" teenage stuff that I wouldn't actually want to be a part of anyway. I look back and realize my life has been nothing but cheerleading, and all my memories are from the kids I have cheered with since I can remember, but i am more thankful for it thank I regret it. And as far as injuries go, yeah my body is a mess just like every one of us, but that's the price we chose to pay for the love of the sport.

 

[ryann3794]

I'm double teaming this year, and I'm at the gym everyday except for tuesday and friday. with that being said I'm a senior and i still live the life of a "normal" high school kid. I still dedicate my whole life to cheer but I never miss out on the high school life.

 

[mollymags]

I can tell you that as much as there were times I wished I could have been out with my friends instead of at practice or a competition, I don't regret for a second all the time I dedicated to cheerleading when I was in high school. The things it taught me, the memories it gave me, and the people that I met will all stick with me much longer than any party I would have gone to or movie I would have seen, etc. Maybe I was just lucky but I really don't feel like I missed out on much at all. I had a good group of friends that were so flexible, so I got to see plenty of them during the little free time that I had.

My body might not be so happy with my decision... I'm only 22 and everything is starting to really catch up with me already!

 

[kickdblcj]

I think a lot has to do with the proximity of your gym too. People who drive for hours miss out on more than someone that only drives 30 minutes too.

 

[FullUpFierce]

Thankyou so much for this motivating thread.
Im 15, nearly 16 and I currently feel like im missing out on my 'teen-hood'. My friends always bug me telling me im missing out on 'great parties' and should miss a few practises now and again, but they just don't understand that I can't. Cheerleading is what motivates me, not parties. It's became my life as I have fallen in love with the sport. I spend more time at practise then at parties, I spend more time on Fierce Board then I do Facebook.

Thanks @WorkToWin for setting my priorities straight.