Being a leader

Being a leader of leaders is an important position to hold. At the young age of fifteen as the captain of the cheer
squad I had the honor of being the "leader of all leaders". Cheerleading were the first steps in my path as a leader in
life. Although I understand that life is a journey of many steps, my experience as a cheerleader has taught me that
success is accomplished through, hard work, dedication, and perseverance. More importantly, I have learned that a
leader must be a person of character and have the ability to inspire others to have the resolve to overcome adversity.
When I first started cheerleading at the tender age of seven, I was not the best cheerleader on my squad. In fact, I was
never the best cheerleader on the squad. I wasn't even one of the top ten. I wanted to be one of the best cheerleaders
very badly, so I worked ten times harder and practiced more than any other girl on my squad. In the end I still was not
one of the best; but I was, indeed, the most hardworking. Being recognized for my effort was nice but it just wasn't as
gratifying as being "The Best".
            In my freshman year of high school, I tried out for the cheer squad. Pop Warner cheerleaders are expected to
go on to become high school cheerleaders. This is typically the hierarchical order in the world of cheerleading. When I
first saw the squad I thought to myself, "My Pop Warner squad was much better than they are. I have to make
varsity." You should have seen the look on my face when the coach announced my name for junior varsity. As it
turned out, I was just one point away from making the varsity squad. I was very disappointed with myself when I
made junior varsity. Once again, I practiced long and hard. I wanted to be a varsity cheerleader more than anything.
            For a year I worked, and worked; then worked even harder to become the best cheerleader that I could
possibly be. I could not wait for tryouts. Tryouts were my chance to prove to my coaches that I was varsity material.
Up until about a week or two before the tryouts, I had not paid much attention to the way that the varsity squad
treated the junior varsity cheerleaders. The varsity squad was extremely rude and domineering towards the junior
varsity squad. By my sophomore year, all of my hard work and extra practice paid off. I finally made varsity! As
ecstatic as I was to make varsity, I had to disavow my position as a varsity cheerleader.
During the year I had definitely matured. I was no longer a girl who wanted to be a varsity cheerleader. I was a young
lady with principles and character. The friendships that I had obtained and the moral values that were instilled in me
as a child were far more important to me than being a varsity cheerleader. I no longer wanted to be a part of the
squad that ridiculed and teased others who were not yet as skilled as they were. I was then chosen to be junior varsity
captain.
            As junior varsity captain, I made it a personal goal to help my squad to become as good as the varsity squad.
A group is only as good as its leader, and this group's leader was a varsity cheerleader. Over the summer junior
varsity practiced twice as long as usual. We practiced four hours a day, four days a week. Our coaches could not
believe how much we had improved, and the other squads at camp couldn't believe how good our squad was. We even
left cheer camp with more ribbons, metals, trophies and spirit sticks than varsity did.
            For the next few months, I spent hours making up and perfecting a routine for my squad to perform at a cheer
competition. The first time the varsity squad saw us execute our routine, they laughed and mocked us but we did not
let their remarks discourage us. We continued to practice and strive for perfection. At the cheer competition, we did
great! We held hands, prayed and cried as we waited for the results of the competition. When we heard the announcer
say that we did not know what to do. We were shocked. It wasn't until thirty seconds later that we jumped up and
screamed while tears of joy rolled down our faces. We were proud of ourselves. We had worked hard for months and
months to do what we did that day and it was more than worth it.
            My high school cheer experience changed my whole outlook on life. I had always believed that hard work and
dedication equaled success, but it wasn't until then that I actually experienced, first hand, what perseverance and
putting my best effort forth could actually accomplish. I am no longer a cheerleader. My experience as cheer captain
influenced me to exercise my leadership skills in other areas. I now participate in various activities both in school and
outside of school like volunteering at hospitals, and peer tutoring.
            At school I am very well known for my leadership qualities. Last year all of the tasks that I had willingly
participated in as a leader in my school paid off. I was chosen as one of the twelve students to serve on the City of Chicago's youth committee. I got a chance to work closely with the mayor of my city and the city council members to
help make a difference in my community. Together with the mayor and the committee, I helped organized after school
activities at local parks and recreation centers for junior high and elementary school students. We also held large
summits on drug awareness and teen abstinence. We even set up peer tutoring programs at the libraries in our city.
The Senior Citizen/ High School was the most eminent of all the events that we coordinated. I felt really blessed to
have the opportunity to bond with the elderly people in my city. It was an honor for me to be a part of such a
distinguished group of people my age. Out of thousands of high school students in the City of Chicago, only twelve
were chosen; and I was one of them. Being a part of the committee gave me the opportunity to meet new people and
learn many new and exciting things. Of all the honors and distinctions I have received in my lifetime, this is the one I
cherish the most.
  I went from wanting to be the best cheerleader, to wanting to be the best at whatever I undertake to perform. I
believe that I can achieve any goal that I set for myself if I work hard, stay positive and focus on success.

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