| ERYNNE's xanga inspired me to do this.. its really long, and it might actually be completely pointless to everyone but me.. but i frankly do not care. this took a long time.
these are my cheerleading shoes. obviously, my whole team had matching pairs, and at one time, it was important that they are only 6 ounces, and the best and lightest cheerleading shoes you can buy, made specially for competitive cheerleaders. at point, they were also shiny and white and brand new. their soles werent shredding from wearing them outside, instead of just on the competition floor as they were intended to be used. they werent creased and the shoelaces were whiter than the rest of the shoe. the bottoms werent broken in yet as they are now.
that doesnt matter though. what does matter is that i wore these shoes to everything i had to do for cheerleading. they were there for what was a huge part of my life for a year, that is now over. i had them on when i had some of my biggest triumps, my worst failures, my favorite memories, and also some that i never want to look back on.
i had to wear these to countless practices. 6 hours a week, id put them on to practice. 6 hours a week from the middle of june to the end of march can add up to a lot of memories. there was the time we decided kimi needs diapers, and the time aly gave me a huge bump on my head. there was the day sarah finally came and we all gasped when she did a basket toss, and coach mike yelled. there were always these dumb bugs in the gym we used for tuesdays and tumbling, and once, marisol and i named one of them jasmine and made it our team mascot. i wore them through lectures, and coach amber yelling, and coach julie making faces behind her while she yelled. i had these shoes on the day we all talked in the locker room and then established the "chicago elite hairstyle" (ponytails on the right side of our head), and we did the huddle for hte first time, and put our hands in and yelled chicago and then walked out to show amber our hair.. i think that was one of the only times we were really a team. there was the day mandi told me she was quitting to go to allstar athletics, and then later that day, marisol yelled at her. these shoes were there the day we got all the twist downs, the day we got the double downs, and the day we did the college stunts. i wore them during break every saturday, and they expirienced annie singing "swing swing", complete with hand movements.
they also went to all of my local competitions with me, and with each one, got a little more worn and less white. at our first competition, they were there when we all hugged before we went on the floor, and they were there when we dropped all of our stunts, and later, when we almost didnt get food (but sarah's dad saved us). at our second competition, i spilled makeup on them (and the rest of my uniform). saam forgot her top, but we managed to hit an almost perfect routine. we all held hands and screamed when the announced second and it wasnt us, and we realized that we got first. i had them on at my third competition too, where someone spread roumors and told lies about me, and rachel yelled at me and made me cry, and almost everyone on the team turned on me, except for annie, saam, and aly. that was the day i figured out who my real friends on the team were. that was the last day mandi was there, and everyone was angry at me for being nice to her. we only got 3rd out of 8 that day. later, at the beginning of february, they went to merriville, and saam and i got in trouble. our whole team ran across the hotel about 2390423 billion times, marisol got sick right before she went on the floor, and we got last place. afterwords, though, saam and i went out to dinner with my dad. the week after that, they went to madison, where we first did the "c h-i c-a-g-o, chicago elite, you know!" cheer before we went on the floor, and everyone had to read the back of each others uniforms because we didnt know how to spell chicago. during awards, they said we got 4th, but then a minute later, took it back, and told us that we actually got 3rd out of 12. kayla cried and everyone was happy. dance got ripped off there, though. then, finally, on the last day of february, they went to mundeline, where we got kicked out of the gym, and we did illegal stunts, but still got third.
most importantly, i had these shoes at all 3 of my nationals. i had them in dekalb, when i had dippin dots, and we, chicago elite junior gold, became national champions in small junior intermediate allstar. i wore them in indy, where we had a horrible first day (considering we lost kimi in our last 15 minutes of practice on tuesday), but ran off the floor screaming and smiling nad hugging on the second day because we did so amazing. we still got 5th though, which was dissapointing, and angela was horrible about it. on the way home, my mom tried to give me a lecture over the phone, and i got upset. i had a good time in saams car on the way home, though. then, they finally went with me to florida. they were in the secret bathroom with me and saam and kimi and annie, and i wore them on the moving walkway when the boys yelled "ELITE" after me and saam. they were with me on the floor when we hit an almost perfect routine both days, and when this random lady made eye contact with me during our routine and gave me a thumbs up. i wish i knew who the hell she was. i had them when we got 5th, but i didnt care, because we made it to orlando after a really rough season.
these shoes also saw the day i went to clinic for elite and sprained my elbow. i wore them to the ER after i left because i was crying from the pain. but, i still got a place on the team, and i had them on my feet the day i went to our first practice of the year, and i was excited at what a huge team we had. then, they were in my bag the day i came downstairs, ready for practice, and my mom told me that there was just no time or money for cheerleading this year.
theres not much i can use these shoes for anymore. theyre not made to go outside, so everytime i walk on the pavement with them, the soles get shredded and worn down. they rub against my heels and have left marks there since ive always worn ankle socks with them. ive only had them for a year, but their time has pretty much come. i wont throw them away, though. ill put them back in my chicago elite bag that has my name on it, with my old cheer makeup, and the chicago elite uniform that i might never use again. in the weirdest way, they carry more memories than any of my other cheer stuff, and i cant bear to part with them, because they carry the most memories of what i basically made my life for one year.
i miss cheerleading a lot... i had a few really wonderful friends on the team who ive managed to keep talking to and making plans with. i loved amber and julie.. i couldnt ask for better coaches, because they really cared about us and treated us as equals most of the time. and as much as we ripped on ourselves, i know i had an amazing team. as much as i dreaded going to practice sometimes, i really did love it.
but i think im done for good.  |
