"I know no limits, life can change in an instant"

It’s crazy how easy we forget to appreciate the things we have and take things for granted. While this could apply to many things of my life, today I’m talking about cheerleading. I have been cheering for nine years and I love it. There is such a thrill from hitting a new stunt, such a great adrenaline rush from throwing and sticking a new tumbling pass. Cheerleading is my happy place. October 27^th 2012 would be classified as one of the worst days of my life. It was the first basketball game of the whole year; my excitement level was running high. My mood quickly took a turn south when during the second timeout of the game I did a round off back handspring layout, got much higher in the air than I expected and landed on a hyper extended knee. After much evaluation the end result was a torn ACL and meniscus. That meant surgery and no cheerleading. The whole ordeal kept me out of my beloved sport for eight months total.  Sitting out for those seven months after surgery was pure torture, watching everyone learn new skills and improve while I had to relearn simple things like how to lift and bend my knee. I don’t even know what emotion I experienced having my happy place ripped away from me. It is always said that everything happens for a reason and I spent many practices and lonely nights pondering on this thought. After being released to return to cheer I think I have finally found the answer. I believe that it was in God’s plan for me to get hurt so that I could rediscover my love for cheerleading and appreciate all the things that I can do. I can remember times where I had complained about having to go to practice but I don’t think I will say those words ever again. I truly value every moment I have to practice, tumble, stunt and cheer because I know how in a blink of an eye that can all be taken away from me.  This is just a small reflection and tiny look into the thoughts on my mind. Through this all I have learned to never take the things that I love for granted, and as much as I hate that I had to go through all of that, in a way I am thankful. My passion for cheerleading has resurfaced and that passion will stay burning forever.