Top Ten Positives and Negatives of Graduating

*Positives

1. Sleeping in EVERYDAY!
2. No more making up excuses about why you have a C in child development.
3. No more homework!
4. You can eat whenever you want to.
5. No more “It’s a school night, be home at eight.”
6. You can text whenever you have the desire to.
7. Having a longer lunch break than thirty minutes.
8. No more household chores.
9. Going to college and being on your own!
10. Having your own money to spend.

*Negatives

1. Getting a new job and having to wake up early once again.
2. Having homework from college courses but nobody to push you to finish it.
3. Gaining the ‘freshman fifteen’ from eating whenever you want.
4. Going to sleep at eight because the night before you stayed out until three in the morning.
5. Going over your phone bill from texting too much.
6. Not even having a lunch break anymore from snacking too much.
7. Not having any money to buy your own house so still having household chores.
8. Paying college tuition and fees to go to college.
9. No more barrowing money from your parents.
10. No more seeing your friends on a daily basis.

Shining Like a Bright Yellow Softball

This weekend I flew again! For those of you who read my blog, not cheer flying and not literally flying. But my spirit flew. I have played softball pretty much for my entire life. Since I was about four or five.It was always the sport that I loved to do and would always do no matter what. Until my sophomore year. Everyone else in my grade was on varsity that year and I was the only one on JV. They said they needed me to pitch. And I was happy but Kellin and Janecia had been on varsity since their freshman year and I wanted to be up there with them. But I stuck it out. Finally, my junior year I made varsity! I was very excited even thought I started off playing bench. When my coach realized that I was pretty good at playing field I started every game. But unfortunately I did not bat.

Once my senior year came, my goal was to bat!I started off not even playing the first couple games but once again, they liked the way I played field so I started fielding again. Every once and a while I would bat against the teams that were not very good, but I never did anything very spectacular. Every practice I tried my hardest but it never seemed like I was improving. My coaches told me I was but I still never batted so I figured they were just tryin to boost my self esteem.

This Saturday, we had a double header schedualed and I was excited! We warned up like usual and then I went and looked at the scheduale. When I saw it I could not believe my eyes! I was actually bating! My coach told me and the girl who usually bats for me thy we would be switching off throughout the game since it was an easy team. My first two times at bat I popped up and by luck, got on base. I got taken out and my coach told me I would play the second half of the next game instead of the first. So I waited and watched. Finally, it was my turn to go bat again. I stepped into the batters box and thought about everything my coaches talked to me about. I even thought about my boyfriends advice he had given me before I went up again. All of it was the same, do not drop your hands. So the first pitch came spinning down the middle of the plate. Next thing I knew, I put my bat out and the feeling was amazing, I hit a line drive straight to left field in between the short stop and third basemen. I ran with all my might and made it to first. The crowd was screaming and I knew they were all in shock that Toni Craig had just hit that. I was smiling ear to ear and my confidence was immediately boosted. I will never forget that moment, because even though it was not a double, triple, or even a home run I know that I am improving and that I showed my coaches I could do it! I am glad I got another chance to bat my senior year and who knows, there may be more to come!

Wishes...

            

   

               I wish you could see. I wish you could see what you are doing to him. I wish you could see how that person changed their mindset for you. They no longer care about anything but you. And you don’t care. You don’t care that you are slowly killing the person you love and the people he loves? You are also slowly killing them. You are giving them more than they could handle and you don’t care. I wish you could see that it isn’t about you but it’s about them. I wish you could see…

                I wish you could hear. I wish you could hear all of the bad things you say to me. All of those hurtful words coming out of your mouth shock me. I wish you could hear the tears that I cry at night after you get done yelling at me. It makes me wonder why you are so happy with him but so unhappy with me. I know it’s hard for you to hear, but not in this way. I wish you could hear…

                I wish you could talk. I wish you could talk to me again. Like old times when I used to get so happy seeing your name in my phone. Not a happy teenage girl way, but a happy sister way. I knew I could always come to you for advice on everything and anything and also give advice to you. You opened up to me and then she came along. When she came back, you shut down. You unwillingly left me and stopped giving me advice. I wish you could talk…

A few days ago I sat at my house alone. My parents were out of town and my friends had other plans. I ate lunch alone, paid for my own haircut, and drove around alone. I thought a lot that day about different things. I thought about how great life is and then about the downsides. Life can take different twists and turns. The world is a big place. It’s a place that can be sweet and sour all at one time. It’s filled with dreams, evil, tears, smiles, and wishes. Take the time to look around and love the world. People can come and go in a heartbeat, so don’t take life for granted. Thank the lord, and love the people who surround you.

Imaginary Friends

           
    Do you remember when you were small, and you were not old enough to ‘go hang out’ with your friends just yet? Those were the days when your siblings were your close friends, whether you knew it or not. But we all had days when your brother or sister told on you for taking their Barbie or picking your nose, and you had no friends; so you created one.
              I had an imaginary friend named Sally. She was a gingerbread girl with icing as her hair, and gumdrops as her buttons. She lived across the street from me in a gingerbread house and always had cookies or goodies to eat! (I had a BIG imagination). When my sister decided I was not good enough to play with her on some days I would go play with Sally because playing with Barbie’s was not fun by yourself.

               One day it was dark and cloudy and you could tell the clouds were going to cry in any minute. Sally and I were jump roping when we heard a big crash of lightening. It scared us and we took off down the street. Sally had to go home because rain made her melt. As we were running to her house, the rain started to come down. Unfortunately, Sally did not make it. That was the day I lost my imaginary friend and I did cry.

               Looking back on that day makes me laugh now because I now know that gingerbread people do not melt in the rain. Sally was my first friend I ever had and also my first friend I ever lost. Everyone has days like this, whether it’s losing an imaginary friend or a real friends. Always keep your friends close to your heart because you never know when that day will come where your friend will melt in the rain.

MORP

                This weekend was the last MORP dance I will ever go to. And unfortunately, (excuse my lack for a better word) it SUCKED.  The dance went from 7pm-10pm. I accidently forgot to take off work for the dance so I had to work 4pm-11pm. The girl who worked my shift before me ended up getting hurt and they asked me to come in two hours early. I was kind of excited to go in because I thought I might get off early or on time so I could make it to the dance on time. We ended up getting SLAMMED and I did not get off until 9:30pm. Jacob and I already had our shirts and I had already bought tickets so once I got off I went home, took a quick shower, Jacob came and picked me up, and off we went!

                When we got there, I was in a terrible mood because of work… but once I saw my friends, they picked my head up and made me smile! I asked if the picture lady had left yet and she did. So Payton, Caleb, Ashley, Ryan, Dylan, Brooke, Juan, Jacob, and I went to the back and found the background! We hung it up with tape and took tons of fun pictures. We made that dance fun! After that we went back out and stood and talked because there was NO GOOD DANCE MUSIC. At all. Suddenly, all the lights flashed on. We looked around, confused, and one of the sophomores took the microphone and said we were going to play a game of dodge ball. I shouted out, “I thought this was a dance!” My date and I stood there for a minute, looked at each other, and got out of there. I knew then and there, that was the WORST dance I had ever been to! Even worse than the one where my date walked out on me.

                After we left we headed to Denny’s and had a blast. I’m glad we ended the night with such a fun time with all of my friends. The dance may have been horrible, but the night ended with a bang with all my senior friends and of course my boyfriend.

The Last Night

            Well this weekend was the last weekend of my high school cheering life… Words do not express how sad my heart feels. Yes, I had the time of my life and I do not fully regret any choices I made, but I hate to see it all end. Well, hopefully just ending for high school.

            We left the school on Friday morning at 8:30 am for the last trip of my senior year in cheering. We partied all the way down there and it was one of the more fun trips I had ever been on. After grabbing some food in Prescott, we got to our hotel and started getting ready for what we found out was the last game of our season. We braided our hair, put on too much makeup, and killed half of the o-zone layer with our hairspray amount. We were off!

            After the game had started, I stopped and looked around at the huge arena. It hit me that this could be my last time… When it got to the end of the second quarter my eyes started tearing up. I pulled myself together and put on a dang good halftime show.

            After Holbrook lost the game, I cried and cried. I knew cheer was over, but I knew that I had one of the best seasons I could ask for. I love cheerleading with all of my heart and I would do every bit of it all over again if I could. Now I will go off to college cheer and show them what my high school squad taught me.

Live Life... To The Last Breath

Life – [lahyf]: the animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual.
What is life? According to the definition above it is purely existence. But what does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be able to wake up every morning and breathe in and out? In my mind, being able to live is one of the greatest blessings God could ever give me. But not only am I alive, but I have an amazing life. I have giving parents who love each other, and I have more stuff than I need!

Now, I did not write this to brag about what I have, but to make you think… what do you have in life that God has blessed you with? What do you have that most people do not?

You may be thinking that you have nothing and that life is dire for you, but think again… how many people have a loved one in a hospital bed not knowing if they will ever wake up? I guess what I am trying to get at is that life is precious. It is something you have got to hang on to and make the most out of it.

There are things in love that you must work at like materialistic things: money, clothes, cars… But there are other things that come along unexpected: friends, awards, love… My point is that life is not a right it is a privilege, a privilege from the man upstairs- God. So cherish every second of it, and do not let it pass by you like a tumbleweed in the wind.

The Big V Day

As you all know Valentine’s Day is approaching, the day of uprooted plant life, and sugar-saturated caffeinated fat blocks. Or, as some people call it, “RTGDBWADAL Day” (Reason To Get Drunk Because We Are Depressed And Lonely Day). My dad says it is the only day of the year that you can get your spouse chocolate or flowers to avoid the nagging that occurs every other day of the year. Alright, so maybe I am being a little down on the holiday. But what can I say? I am a teenage girl who just wants some flowers and chocolate from boy of the month that I crush on each year. Is that not every teenage girl’s dream?
In seventh grade was the first year that a boy had ever gotten me something on February 14^th. Jalen Jackson got me a stuffed red and white puppy, and gave it to me on the outside basketball court after school. I thought it was the most romantic thing I had ever gotten and I thought I would start looking forward to Valentine’s Day every year if this kept up. But of course, it did not. My 8^th grade year was just another year, but my freshman year, I had a boyfriend and we broke up the day before Valentine’s Day (what a cheapskate huh?). My sophomore year, my boyfriend and I broke up and got back together the week after Valentine’s Day (are you kidding me?).
After that year I became a junior, and guess who I had been talking to? The wonderful-first-Valentine’s-Day-boyfriend-I-ever-had… Jalen Jackson. We had been talking for a couple weeks and I knew I liked him, and I almost knew he liked me. I basically told him that I was going to get him some nice diamond earrings for V-Day because he had wanted some since he got his ears pierced. I got my hopes up for something sweet from him, and I ended up getting a bag of candy that his mom had given him that morning because he forgot it was Valentine’s Day (c’mon boys you are KILLING ME!!!). On the plus side, my ex-boyfriend sent me a dozen roses saying he was sorry.
I am not trying to hate on guys, so do not get offended. I just feel like Valentine’s Day is a day for people “in love”, which stinks if you are not “in love”.  But fortunately, this year I have one of my best friends that I do “love”. I would not mind if he did not get me anything because I am just happy I have him, but I am hoping this Valentine’s Day will be different! I am hoping to change my view on this holiday, because even though it is only a holiday you cannot go around hating the bad things in life. Especially something as simple as some smelly uprooted plants. Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Dream That Was Lost

“And in 8^th place… the Roadrunners of Holbrook!” the announcer belted over the intercom. My heart stopped and my body froze. The whole squad looked around at each other and a smile grew across all our faces. I pushed my body up off the hard gym floor and started screaming.  We were all hugging and crying our eyes out, not for sadness but for great joy. The date was November 24^th, 2011. We were in the middle of Phoenix at a huge 5A school. This was the first time we had ever made it to state in 12 LONG years. And not only had we made it, but we were number eight to make it! That means we beat two other teams. Our team was proud and so was our coach.

About two months later we were back at it again. But we weren’t just competing for a spot in the top ten. We were competing for the big title, STATE CHAMPS. It was the week right before we left for state and one of our members had unfortunately dropped out. She wasn’t able to attend our practices or games anymore because of her grades. That means we had to create a whole new routine in only four days. In some places she was not a main person so it was easy to switch around, but in other places we had to teach different stunts and make a whole new formation. Most of our team was committed so it worked out great at practice and everything hit perfectly every time. We had a chance to become the great STATE CHAMPIONS.  

We left the school at around 7:30 in the morning for Prescott, AZ and arrived at Tim’s Toyota Center at about 10:30. We got our bags checked, got dressed, and found a spot for all of our team to sit. We didn’t have to check in until noon so we got some food, bought some t-shirts, and looked around at the college booths that were set up. When it finally reached noon we put our red lipstick on, took a team photograph, stretched out, and started to warm up behind the curtain. First station: jumps. “1-2-straddle-5-6-7-8” My coach yelled. The jumps hit perfect. Two more times, and the jumps hit perfectly once again. Next station: tumbling. Brooklynn practiced her back handspring and we did our forward rolls, just to take up some time. Everything hit perfect, once again. Next station: stunts. This was the station that was the most important, and that if someone was not able to do something, they needed to say it now. My coach started counting out the first five eight-counts of the routine and only two out of the four pod’s stunts were hitting. There was a group in front that was mainly freshmen, and they started freaking out. They began feeling the nerves that most of us upperclassmen had felt several times. I talked to a couple of them and told them to settle down because that’s the only thing that will hold you back out on the floor. They took a couple breaths and told me they were okay. We went through the routine one more time and everything hit perfectly. We were ready.

As the team before us walked off the floor we walked on in a single file line with all smiles on our face. I looked down at my white, tight, shiny shoes, and took a deep breath. I got goose bumps on my arms as I looked forward and saw the judges who would soon decide the fate of my dream. Right before the music started my group said that after this we would be state champs… our hearts stopped and the music started. I put on my cheer face and did the routine the best I ever had in my entire life. I wanted to win.

After our final clean and after walking off the floor knowing I left my heart back there, I could not help but smile. I looked around to see how the other girls felt when I noticed something went wrong. A couple girls were crying and some would not speak to anyone. We took another break and then it was time for awards. The announcer said that it was now time for the All Girls Cheer- Division lll awards. We held hands and waited anxiously. They announced the first time in tenth place: Benson. I took a deep breath. Next was ninth place… Holbrook. I stood up, put on one last fake smile, and sat down with all hope lost. My eyes filled with tears and knew that was my last chance to be a champ, representing Holbrook, AZ. I was proud of our team for getting here in twelve years, and I will never forget that day of feeling on top of the world for two minutes and thirty seconds. I love my team and I always will. It was nobody’s fault and I hope people will start believing in us more because we had the chance to be State Champions. I love my team, and I thank God for giving me this amazing opportunity.

Universal Cheerleading Association

           
         It was a warm sunny day with a slight breeze and the bell just rang for lunchtime. As usual, Hope and I went to her house to eat. After we finished our chili dogs my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out and read, “ONE NEW MSG” from “Nichole Lozano”. The message was urgent and said, “CALL ME!” in capital letters. We had 5 minutes until the bell rang for class to start again so I knew she was already in the office. I told Hope to take me back to school now so I could see what the big fuss was…

            When I walked into the office she was standing at the desk with a HUGE smile on her face. At least I knew something terrible did not happen. She asked me if I had talked to my mom and I told her yes and that she was going to check me out to get my car looked at around three o’clock.

She looked at me and said, “Not about that!”

I told her that was all we discussed and she said, “Well lately I did a student profile on you and you’re cheerleading for UCA (Universal Cheerleading Association). I sent in photos’ and a letter about you and your skills…”

My mind went blank. I just looked at her and said, “What’s your point?”

She grabbed me and said, “THEY WANT YOU TO TRY OUT!!! You can earn a spot in six places out of 15 girls!”

I froze. I had no words, just an extensive smile across my face. This is EVERY cheerleader’s dream, especially mine! I could not believe this was happening. I have gone to a UCA summer camp for the passed four years and of course I stood out there imagining how awesome it would be if I was an instructor. But, I assumed every girl (or boy) at that camp had the same thoughts flowing through their minds.

            After I came out of my shock comatose, I looked at Nichole and said when do we start? She told me that I had a week to put together a video to submit. I needed jumps, a cheer, a dance, basing, back spotting, and of course… flying. We started that night at practice. It was pretty complicated since we had competition the same weekend that my video was due. But, we worked around it. I stayed late and worked super hard to get everything perfect for this squad. At one point, I even deleted part of my tryout video off of the Ipad. Oops! My team was a huge help, they cheered me on, clapped for me, and most importantly brought up my self esteem.

            The video was due no later than Sunday night, January 29^th, at midnight. We e-mailed it at 10 pm that night, and the next morning posted it on youtube. We don’t know when I will find out but I hope it is soon. No matter what happens I know that I was very lucky to get this opportunity and I thank God every day for giving it to me.

Livin' The Dream!

This week I am going to talk about one thing that I could do every day for the rest of my life, my passion, cheerleading. The first time I ever picked up a pom pom was my 7th grade year. My sister was just starting as a freshman in high school and made the JV cheerleading squad. When she received her uniform and, to what seemed to me, huge pom poms; I knew I wanted to be a Holbrook High School Cheerleader!
When I finally got up to the High School in 2008, I made the first freshmen squad that Holbrook had in many years! I was ecstatic! That year the district had hired a new coach who had previously been a cheerleader for the NAU Lumberjacks and moved to Holbrook for personal reasons. She started off as the freshman coach that everyone soon started to love. My sophomore year, I made the Varsity squad- there weren’t enough girls for 2 separate squads. Our program took off and soon every fan in Holbrook weren’t only fans of the HHS football and basketball teams, but also the HHS Spiritline. This was the first year I had ever gone to competition. We did not place, but the fact that Holbrook even went was a step up for us. That year flew by and before I knew it, my sister was graduated and I was now a junior.
This year was the year that I realized not only did I love this sport, but how much I loved it. I decided that I wanted to go to college and cheer for the NAU Lumberjacks, just like my coach. She was my inspiration! I informed my coach of how much I wanted to do this after high school and that I wanted to get better every step of the way, so she started working with me as a flyer. After the first time they threw me in the air, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop! We enrolled ourselves in a new category to compete in at competition and only missed the top ten by TWO POINTS. We were crushed, but I thrived for more!
This year I am a senior, captain of the HHS Spiritline, and one of the main flyer’s for our squad. We competed in the all-girls show cheer category at the AIA competition and ended up making the top 10 in ninth place and we are now on our way to state. I have gotten accepted into NAU and I’m working to get money to go cheer on their squad. I’ve also gotten asked to try out for the largest cheer association in the world, the Universal Cheer Association.  I never gave up on my dream and I cannot wait until it comes true. My love for cheerleading will never die, and I will never give up.