Throughout high school, the most influential experience I had was easily cheerleading. I cheered for six years and was chosen as a captain for my senior year. Cheerleading taught me many lessons about leadership, friendship, and overall wellness. As a captain my senior year, I learned how to lead without overstepping and plan ahead while still focusing on the current task at hand. Since I cheered for such a long time, it also brought me so many amazing friends, most of whom I wouldn’t have met if it were not for cheerleading. In addition to the people on my squad, I learned so much from my cheer coach; she is one of my biggest role models. Cheer also introduced me to different kinds of exercise, like zumba, yoga, and dance fitness, all of which contributed to my love for working out with others. Group fitness is now a huge part of my life and doing workout classes at the CRC is my favorite time of the day. I genuinely believe that the experiences I had because of cheer and the people I met shaped me more than any other part of my high school years. I attribute much of my personality, values, and goals to cheerleading, and I am so grateful for all it taught me.