Cheerleading competition

13th of January, Tuesday
My host sister, Sydney is the cheerleader captain in the Athena Varsity team. They had their first competition today. Me anD Kim, we went out to HFL high school, to cheer for the team. My very first cheerleading competition. It was very impressive, I have to say. I always saw cheerleaders in the movies, but I never saw a routine in real life, so it was very unexpected.

  American know, Hungarians don't, how difficult of a sport it is. It's like syncronize gymnastics with tumbling, lifting, flip-flops and jumping. Many times, I forgot to breath, the tension was so high. A lot of people fell, which seemed frightening, but they just got up, and continued.

  I was sitting with the parents, who were the cheering for the cheerleaders. We brought a bunch of noisemakers. I was shouting and shaking a tamborine. The Trojans were great. They were very energetic and their routine was impressive too. They got second place, which is still pretty good.

  Now, I can understand why they portray cheerleaders in movies and the beautiful and mean popular girls in school. They couldn't be further from the truth. These girls go through a lot. These competitions are not just physically but emotionally difficult too. Injuries happen all the time, and if someone is not timed perfectly, or doesn't do what they should, the whole thing falls apart. That's a lot of pressure. 

  Afterwards, we went to a sportsbar to celebrate with a quick light dinner. Some parents and four of the girls came. 

  This was a very interesting experience for me. Cheerleading is an important part of the American culture, I'm glad I can experience it through the competitions.