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Follow Your Dreams

What I personally believe in is faith and following your heart. I believe if a person takes a

leap of faith, then they will end up exactly where they are meant to be in life doing what they

should be doing. From my own personal experiences, I have witnessed this and seen it work out.

I believe the impossible can be possible, but one must have faith and be willing to have the

courage to step outside of their comfort zone and go for it. I believe in faith and what is meant to

be yours will be yours in perfect timing.

In my senior year of high school, I thought I had my future all worked out and that I picked

the right school for me. I was supposed to be going to this small school in Texas. I was going

there for cheer, and they are one of the best and most top notch cheer teams to be on. They are a

national champion team and win almost every year. I was beyond excited because this is

something I had always wanted, and it was my ultimate goal to be on such a competitive team. I

had been doing cheer for six years, so cheering in college on such an amazing team was the next

big step for me. This was something I had worked so many years toward and was something I

had dreamed about and wanted for years. Cheering in college is the final and last big goal. After

that, you do not have anything else to work towards or do. So I knew cheering in college was

something I wanted to do before ending my cheer career.

It was finally the summer of 2018, and I made the cheer team in Texas. We had a cheer camp

we had to attend to in the summer. It was my first time meeting the coach and my team for that

year. I was very nervous because this was one of my first times going away from home, and I

was going to be so far. It was 11 hours from everything I knew. I was also very nervous about

meeting my coach and my team. I wanted them to like me, and I wanted to be sure that I made a
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good impression on them. I was just a shy girl from Alabama going all the way to Texas to be

on one of the best collegiate cheer teams in the nation. Meeting my team and making a good

impression was a big deal to me. I was going to be around the best of the best athletes and

wanted them to know that I was good and deserved to be on that team just as much as they did.

I got to camp, and it was nothing like what I had envisioned in my head. Some of the people

were nice, but most of them were so stuck up. This program was talked about so highly because

they were so amazing, and they were also supposed to be a huge family. I had no idea what I

was about to get myself into to. The thing is, people can put up and portray any type of image

that they want you to see. I believed in what they made me believe. This was a huge mistake on

my part. Lots of these girls were into doing drugs, and the coach and my teammates at the time

did lots of bad things that I personally did not wish to be a part of. I thought and believed many

of these things to be completely wrong. I was miserable the whole week and a half of camp

because this is not what I wanted. Being a part of such a highly competitive team, I thought

things would be different and that it would be a respectful program. The whole time I was

wondering if I should leave. I had even called my mom once and told her to come get me

because this was not what I wanted, and it was nothing like I had expected it to be. My mom

drove 6 hours halfway to get me. Then, my old cheer coach called me and told me to stop. He

told me that I should not give up on my dream and on something I had worked so

incredibly hard on. He was right. I had spent so many hours and years for one ultimate goal of

cheering in college and being on an amazing team. He convinced me to at least finish out camp

because camp is the hardest thing to go through. Camp puts so much pressure on you. He

wanted me to see how I felt at the end of camp.

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So I did finish. At the end of camp, I was feeling better, but still I was not sure if I wanted to

stay and if this school was the right choice for me. Anytime we were not cheering, I was looking

at other schools and calling all my family members. I just had no idea what I wanted or what I

felt like I needed to do. Before I knew it, camp was ove,r and I was on my way back to

Alabama.

I got back home to Alabama, and at this time I had decided that I was going to stay. I wanted

to be on an amazing team, and this was my dream. How could I give that up? I had one month

until I would be back in Texas and going to school in August. The whole time I thought I would

be going to this school. Finally, it was a week before I was supposed to be leaving for college.

However, something in me and in my heart just did not feel right that whole entire week. It was

the longest week of my life, and instead of being excited to leave for college, I was dreading

every minute of having to go and leave. I knew in me that I was not going to be happy at that

school, and I tried so hard to convince myself to go. However, I just could not go through with

it. In my heart, as hard as it was for me, I knew what was best for me. I told my parents two days

before I was supposed to leave that I was not going. I could not go somewhere if I knew for a

fact I was not going to be happy. I was devastated. I felt that I had let so many people in my life

down and that I gave up on my dream. I wish I knew then that this was all supposed to happen

this way, and I was going to end up where I needed to be. At the time, I did not know it quite

yet. But I had faith and knew things would work out and be okay in the end.

Then only two days after I quit the Texas cheer team and called off all my college plans, I

received a call from the coach of Oklahoma State University. She told me that she heard what

happened and all the experiences I had during camp and she was sorry. She said that my cheer

experience should have been good and that not all schools were like that, and she did not want
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me to quit cheer or go a whole year not cheering. She told me that not every school is for

everyone, and it is important to find the school for you. She offered me a spot on the small coed

cheer team, and she told me she would be waiting for me. I had a spot with my name on it if I

wanted it. At the time I had no idea that my entire world was about to change. OSU is amazing

at cheer and is known for having such a positive and well respected program. This was a school

I had always wanted to cheer at and planned to transfer to after two years of being at the Texas

school. I had never thought about going to a big university at first because I thought it would be

hard, and my old coach told me that I would never make a team at a university coming straight

out of high school.

I talked to my parents, and two weeks later I went through with it and decided that this was

faith. The next thing I knew, I was in the car and completely packed up with all my stuff driving

12 hours away from home all the way to Oklahoma. This was my calling, and none of this

would have happened or worked out the way it did if I was not supposed to end up here. I

believe that everything happens for a reason, but at the time I did not realize what that reason

was or why. The truth is, it was faith. At least, that is what I believe. I believe that I was meant

for something greater, and that I was not going to let myself settle. All it took was courage and

taking a leap of faith for me to realize that.

I got to Oklahoma and was instantly shown so much love from everyone around me. These

were the nicest and most supportive people I had met in my life. It felt like a home away from

home, and I had only just arrived there. I was so happy, and I had a sudden relief of peace wash

over for me. I knew this was where I needed to be. I felt completely at home and knew in my

heart that I was going to be okay and everything would work out perfectly. Sometimes your

dreams will change, and the outcome changes, but never once did I doubt it. It was faith. This
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was where I needed to be, and I knew it. I believe that faith saved me and changed my life for

the better. I was taken out of situations that I believed and thought to be good for me. In the

end, I stayed true to myself and ended up with so much better. Faith is real; it works out, and it

will not let you settle. Faith means that following your heart is the best choice. I believe in faith,

and I know for a fact that everything happens for a purpose. You just have to be willing to know

what that purpose is and always believe that you do have choices. The outcome of your life is up

to you and what you are willing to make of it. Everyone's journey is different, and not one

person is the same. Faith is believing the impossible is possible. The impossible is possible, but

you have to have faith and courage and let it be bigger than any fears, anyone, or anything trying

to stop or stand in your way. Faith is choosing to believe and trusting that things will work out

regardless of anything. My story is a perfect example of that.

I have never been happier in my life being here at OSU. It is the vision that I had painted in

my head, and it has far exceeded even that original vision. Everything about this program, this

school, and these people is magical. This place has helped me grow and helped me in so many

ways, more ways than I can count. This entire year has been the biggest blessing of my life. I

love everything about OSU cheer and it is an honor to be a part of it and represent it. I really

would not want to go to any other school or be a part of any other cheer program. This place

means the world to me, and I would not change ending up here for anything in the world. These

past few months of cheer and school have been incredible. I cannot even put into words how

awesome it has truly been. To top it all off, my team just won college Nationals.

I believe in faith and going after what you want in life. I believe faith is real and that my

story proves that. Faith made everything in my life work out for the better. This story is just one

of many real life experiences that I have witnessed in my life about faith. I have seen it in other
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people’s lives as well. Faith can turn anything around and make things happen that you do not

even think can happen. It made my dreams come true and helped me find true happiness in life

in the sport that I love. I think that if you have faith, the right things will come to you in perfect

timing no matter what. If you feel darkness and that you have no answers and do not know

where to turn, have faith. It will eventually all be okay no matter what situation or what you are

going through. Everything in life works itself out. Do not try to find the answers; let the

answers find you. Faith will make your life great and open the most amazing doors and

opportunities for you. You just have to willing to not have fear and go for it. This is my story,

and this is what I believe in.