my passion

when i was about 6 years old, my mom enrolled me in ballet class. i guess she wanted to make a ballerina out of me like most mothers. i can just imagine the disappointment that she felt when the instructor told her that i often disrupted the class and that i wasn't really focused in dancing. needless to say, i never saw that dance studio again. a few years later, she enrolled me in a hip-hop class. i remember enjoying it, but i don't really remember being good at it. my mom and titas would always be amused when i danced because "matigas yung katawan ko".

come 5th grade, cheering and gymnastics were the in things to do. not wanting to be left out, i took gymnastics lessons. during that time, if you knew how to do a cartwheel, you're surely in the squad. and that started my 11-year stint as a cheerdancer. i have to admit that my academic years were characterized by my cheering life. like in grade 6, when we were the grade school champions or 4th year high school when we were part of the J & J cheering competition or 2nd year college when we totally sucked in the uaap nestle crunch thing. looking back, i don't regret making cheerdancing almost the center of my life.

sure, i was never in a winning team. the miriam pep squad lost in the J & J during my senior year. i especially took it hard because i was co-captain. the admu squad was literally a work in progress when i got in during freshman year in college. we didn't even have an official name because the babble wasn't ready to take us (girls) in their wing. when i was captain during 4th year, major changes have been made and we improved a whole lot. but it still wasn't enough to compete with the seasoned veterans like ust and up.

now, the miriam and ateneo squads are flourishing and are given more respect. they are reaping the rewards of all our hardwork and i have to admit that i am sometimes jealous of them. but nothing can take away everything that cheering has given to me. it made me know and express the real me. it brought me closer to my family and friends who always supported me. it gave me friends who i will forever cherish. but most of all, it gave me the courage and confidence that i still hold on to up to now.

i probably am the stereotypical cheerdancer- short skirts, annoying pompoms, maarte, loud, always perky and is more passionate about cheering than studying and excelling in school. but at least i am passionate about something. few people can say that about themselves. the rest spend their whole life looking for one. im just greatful that im part of the few lucky ones who don't have to look anymore.