11 Things You Learn When You Become a Cheerleader

With tryouts happening soon, a lot of you are about to become cheerleaders for the first time. This is an exciting moment in your life, and nothing will be the same from here on out because once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader! Being a cheerleader comes with a lot of responsibilities, but you will learn the ropes and feel like a veteran cheerleader before you know it. Here are 11 things you learn once you become a cheerleader: You can never have enough bobby pins. You are a responsible person, so you will bring plenty of bobby pins. However, when you need them, they will have disappeared. They have to be in your cheer bag somewhere, but they aren’t. They are now in the magical land of stray socks, unicorns, and pencils you let classmates “borrow,” so you definitely need more. (Source: thesavory.com) Or Soffe shorts. You need one for each day, mood, weather possibility, cheer tank, etc. Just keep ’em coming. Or hair bows. Similar to your cheer shorts situation, you will need a bow to match every nail polish color you own, all your cheer socks, your emotions for the day, and your Soffe shorts, obviously. (Source: tumblr.com) Seriously…is bow layering a thing yet? (Not to feed your addiction, but we are currently obsessed with the new glitter chevron bow from Chasse). (Source: tumblr.com) A bottle of hair spray does not last that long. You’re going to need to keep about five bottles in your cheer bag at all times and make sure your cheer parents do too. (Your dad will be thrilled.) (Source: tumblr.com) The bigger the hair the higher the stunt. That’s just a fact. And that probably explains number four. There is no such thing as going overboard on glitter. Glitter is the new pink. Just embrace it. (Source: giphy.com) Teammates make the best friends. You literally put your lives in each others’ hands every single day. And you better make sure you stay friends because after cheering together, they will know way too much about you. (Source: collegetimes.com) You have a muscle there. And it’s sore. Cheerleading is not for the weak. (Source: gifrific.com) The show must go on. OK, you totally messed up in front of hundreds of people, many of whom you will have to face at school tomorrow, and you would really like to disappear, but the world keeps spinning and your song keeps playing, so you have to keep cheering. The value of teamwork. You find out how annoying it is when someone misses practice, because every single person really is essential and you can’t do your routine without everyone there! You will also find out that your flyer’s well-being is completely in the hands of your bases. It may sound cheesy, but regardless of any outside drama, you really need each other. (Source: imgur.com) You can smile through anything. Games when your team is losing terribly, looooong days at cheer camp, yet another fundraiser…you’ll become a pro at staying positive when it’s the last thing a normal person would be able to do. (Source: tumblr.com)What else will new cheerleaders learn? What did you learn when you became a cheerleader?