My literacy topic is cheerleading. It did not take any thought when Mr.

Arnold asked the

class what we are literate in. Cheerleading is my passion. I do not think I am as literate in any
other subject than I am in cheerleading. I chose this topic because ever since I was in grade
school I wanted to be a cheerleader. I wanted to move the way they did and shout the way they
did and do that "thing" where they lifted other girls up, threw them and then caught them in their
arms - like a trust exercise. Before I became a cheerleader I was not up in the lingo of
cheerleading, so I would point something out, like stunting, and call it that thing. I wanted that
relationship with a team where I could completely trust my peers and become close friends with
my team members.
I attended Southview Christian School from kindergarten to third grade. I went up to the
cheer coach when I was in kindergarten and asked her if I could be a mascot to the cheer squad,
but apparently at this private school you could not be a cheerleader until you were in eighth
grade. But I did not ask to be a cheerleader, I asked to be a mascot and there were girls my age
and younger that were mascots so I did not understand why I was turned down. This made me
very upset and determined to show them that they made a poor choice in make the rule of being
in eighth grade in order to cheer, so when I went to public school in fourth grade I started
cheering. And at this point, in fourth grade at Cool Spring Elementary School is the beginning of
the story of how I became literate in cheerleading.
I had watched the cheerleaders at Southview Christian School for four years so I saw
exactly how move my arms and legs, how to smile while shouting words, and get the crowd
involved. So when I got to public school in fourth grade doing cheers came naturally to me - you
do not yell, but use your diaphragm to say cheers so it comes out pleasant and does not seem as
though you are in a screaming fight with someone. Your arms do not move fluidly like a

sentence or a song, they move in sharp movements because that is how people in the back of the
crowd/stands will be able to see the motions - plus sharp movements look much better than fluid
movements do. Stunting (lifting girls in the air) did not come so naturally to me because at
Southview the most complex stunt they did was a thigh stand. In the beginning of my
cheerleading career I was a flyer (the girl that is tossed in the air). I had to learn, through many
practices, how to lock my knees when I went in the air; this would help my balance and keep my
ankles from rolling. I, also, learned not to jump out of my bases hands when we cradled because
if I did jump out of their hands the cradle would look sloppy. When flying, I learned I had to let
them throw me with their arms and catch me and I just simply had to ride the cradle to the top
and when I felt myself falling sit in a V position.
The moment in my path to literacy when I decided to become more literate in
cheerleading was when I went to East Iredell Middle School to cheer. At Cool Spring
Elementary I just had to sign up for cheerleading and I were on the team, but at East Iredell and
South Iredell High School I had to try out. When I went to the first day of tryouts and saw how
many girls there was I thought I was toasted; there was no way that I was good enough to make
the team over all of these girls. After all the girls got settled the cheer coach explained that this
was nothing like cheering at our elementary schools, it was going to be very competitive and we
needed to bring our A game. This was the moment I knew I wanted to become more literate; I
wanted to be the best.
While I was at East Iredell Middle School as a cheerleader I got the opportunity to be a
captain my eighth grade year. This title came with a lot of responsibilities and I knew this
because I had seen past captains and all that they had to do so by this time in my cheerleading
career I was absolutely and 100% ready to take on the challenge of being a captain. This stage of

becoming literate was vital because after this year I would be going to high school and would be
at the bottom of the food chain and had to prove myself to a new set of girls; varsity and junior
varsity (J.V.). Being the captain of the cheerleading squad I had to make the line-up for dances
and side cheers, come up with a dance for half time, and choose a sweatshirt/t-shirt design. This
added a lot of stress to my plate because I was also in the International Baccalaureate Programme
at Northview IB Middle School my seventh and eighth grade years of middle school. I learned
that I had to take one task at a time; I could not conquer all that I needed to do in a week, it was
going to take time. Being captain of the cheerleading squad, I had to keep my team in line and
doing what we were supposed to do because as cheerleaders we are role models to others at our
school - people look to us to see what we are doing. Therefore, my eighth grade year of cheering
was a major part in becoming literate.
When I got to South Iredell High School tryouts were even more terrifying than going to
my very first tryout as a cheerleader in sixth grade. There were one hundred girls trying out for a
spot on J.V. (14 to 15 spots) and Varsity (18 spots), which meant that over half of the girls trying
out would not make any team. These odds scared me half to death; there was no way I was good
enough to beat over half of these girls, I was only half literate at this time in my cheerleading
career. The day came that we had to tryout and I received my letter of congratulations on making
the J.V. team. I had brought my A game to tryouts and other girls let their nerves get the best of
them. First day of practice came and the coach told us to line up shortest to tallest, I was in the
middle of all the tallest girls. Since I was in the middle of all the tall girls I got the position of a
base, which made me really upset and nervous because all I knew how to do in stunting was
front spot and fly. But I did not let my nerves get the best of me. I earned that spot on the J.V.
squad and I wanted to become more literate in cheerleading and this is how I would become

more literate. It took a few practices for me to get the hang of basing someone. Even though I
had an idea of the proper way to lift someone and toss the flyer in the air, I was not literate in this
aspect because I would keep my focus on me flying and not falling. Coach Owen was my
motivator to not give up if a girl knocked me in the face or if I messed the stunt up. She had so
much faith in me and that really helped contribute to my literacy. My sophomore year of high
school I stayed a base and stayed on the J.V. squad so I just perfected all the aspects I was
already literate in.
My junior year of high school is when I became 95% literate. I do not know if I grew, if
other girls shrunk, or if we just had a lot of short girls on the varsity squad that year, but one way
or another I became a back spot; the only position I was not literate in. The story of becoming a
backspot is very similar to that of me becoming a base my freshman year because I was nervous
and scared, but Coach Owen was there by my side through the whole process. I know I said
junior year was when I became 95% literate and you must be wondering what the other 5% is
because I said becoming a backspot was the only position I was not literate in, the other 5%
came my senior year of high school.
My senior year of high school I was a captain for the varsity squad during football
season. When the captains were announced Coach Owen pulled us aside and gave us a talked
that opened up my eyes. One thing she said was that we were not just role models for the varsity
squad but, also, the J.V. squad. I did not think about it, but she was right. When I was on the J.V.
squad I looked up to not only the Varsity squad, but the captains of the Varsity squad because
they were like on the very top of the high school cheerleading food chain and now that was me.
I had to make sure that I keep myself in line and did not screw up or goof off not only during
games and practices, but also during school and outside of school. I had to step my game up. I

not only had to look after the Varsity squad, but the J.V. squad as well - I had come up with
dances, t-shirt/sweatshirt designs, lead practices, come up with new stunts, and more. And
during this time of the season was when I became 100% literate (at least to my scale) in
cheerleading.