A cheerleader’s life has either two extremes, it’s either super busy or there’s absolutely nothing going on. As this is tournament week in our hometown, it is prime-time to see how intense our weeks can get.

Monday – First day of tournament week – All cheerleaders had to get dressed up in our cheer attire. The school day was just an average day, but as soon as school was out, several of us had to work at the concession stand. We worked at the concession stand for three hours. Then, as soon as our shift ended, we had to change into our uniforms and start stretching. We did our best to keep smiling and pretending to be peppy and happy during the girls’ game. The boys’ game was a bit easier with the intense, high-action game, and the realization that it was the last game before we could go home and sleep. I ended up leaving the school around 10 and didn’t go to sleep until around 11:30.

Tuesday – Day two of tournament week – Today, I woke up feeling like actual death. My legs and back hurt and my bones felt like they were scraping together. The jumps, kicks, flips, and splits we do might look cool, but the aftermath is not fun to deal with. This week we’re going to most likely have four practices so we can learn a dance for the elementary Christmas program. This is the first time the cheerleaders have been roped into the program, but I think it’ll be cool. In today’s practice, we started with yoga for our workout, and then Mrs. Thompson and I started teaching the dance. After we danced for a while, we decided on what suit, bow, and poms we’ll use for the rest of the week. Right after practice, the same group of cheerleaders that worked the concession stand on Monday returned to work the last three-hour-shift. I think I went home around ten, but I didn’t go to bed until 12.

Wednesday – Day three of tournament week – It was nice waking up today and not being sore from a game or a workout from practice, but yoga can be a leg-killer sometimes. I’m really excited about not having practice today and not having to work at the concession stand anymore. I don’t know if I could stand another day of it. Today is the only day this week where there are no games or practice. Although riding the bus home isn’t the best, it still beats staying at school till 10.

Thursday – Day four of tournament week – There is nothing better than waking up, and not being sore, so I don’t take it for granted. Today we cheerleaders got dressed up in our fancy lil’ cheer outfits. We have cheer practice today, so we have yet another non-stop day. After practice, we had about an hour before we cheered at the girls’ game. Everyone was definitely more excited to cheer since we only had to cheer at one game. I went straight home after that game and fell asleep immediately.

Friday – Day five of tournament week – THANK THE BLESSED LORD! It is finally Friday, which means this is the last day we have to wear cheer clothes to school. Today there’s no extra practice, and we get to go home before the game instead of staying at the school for 13 hours. Other than being tired, today was alright.

Saturday – Last day of tournament week – Today was the best! I got to sleep in till 11:00, and that was honestly the best part of my week. The first game was……….rough to cheer at, but after the game, we had a practice in full-elf-attire for the Christmas program. Then we got to cheer at the boys’ game, which was still exciting, even without a student section. *y’all are kinda useless* I went home right after the game and went to sleep immediately.