When you think of cheerleaders what do you think? I can answer that for you. You probably think of a stuck up, snobby, airheaded, annoying, spoiled brat that gets whatever she wants. Did you think of a materialistic, conceited, promiscuous young girl? I was spot on with that wasn’t I? According to my survey of 50 Pitman students I found that at least 50% of those students have those sentiments about cheerleaders. Now let me ask you this, have you ever gotten to know one? Have you ever talked to one long enough to think that? Or do you just assume all cheerleaders are like that? I want to make you think about it.
Ever heard of don’t judge a book by its cover? Don’t judge a person by what they do without knowing them. Yes, of course there are always those girls who live up to what people think about cheerleaders, but more than half the cheerleaders you meet are nothing like what people think. We’re usually not airheaded or stupid because we still have to maintain a high GPA to get into a good college just like any other student. We’re usually not stuck up and snobby because there is a lot of us who want to change people perspective on cheerleaders. And most of the time we don’t get whatever we want whenever we want because our parents pay so much for uniforms, competition fees, and monthly bills and expenses which only leaves so much money left.
We’re no different from anyone else. We’re no different from any other athlete. Football players catch balls to score touchdowns, we catch people so we don’t cause and injury or cost the team a win. Baseball players throw balls to win games, we throw people to win competitions. We practice and work out just as much if not more than some football, baseball, and basketball players. So why treat us differently? Why call us all these stereotypical names? Is it because our sport requires us to wear skirts and glitter? Ever notice football players wear tights or that black stripe under the eye is nothing but make-up? Cheerleading isn’t just jumping around in a cute uniform and cheering on a team. There’s a whole other world to it that nobody ever sees. The side of cheerleading where we get thrown at least 50 feet in the air, the side where we’re so flexible our bodies look like pretzels, the side where if we mess up on any little thing we could seriously injure ourselves or cost our team a 1st place. Where we practice and compete with injuries and fight through the pain. This unseen side can simply leave you amazed at the dedication and commitment that cheerleaders put into their sport.
If you don’t know enough about something then you shouldn’t judge or talk negative about it. You really have no right to. So next time you start putting down cheerleaders without knowing them well enough, think about what you’re doing and who you could possibly be hurting. I’m sure you wouldn’t like it very much if someone is putting you down because you do something that is your passion without even knowing you.
Just think about it.
