Shannon Hayden

ENW 100 Section 33

Professor Ferrara

September 27, 2019

The First Day of Practice

There I stood, on the corner of Carnation Avenue and Floral Boulevard, waiting for my

bus in my white blouse, plaid skirt, and maroon knee-high socks while the brisk morning air

blew my brown hair over the front of my face. The nerves in my body were uncontrollable and

all I wanted was to be back in eighth grade and walking to school with my friends since

childhood. I got onto the bright yellow school bus that was filled with girls and I was off to my

first day of high school. I sat in the right middle back of the bus and was just about to try to catch

some extra minutes of sleep when I heard a senior’s voice yell from the front of the bus, “All

freshman have to sit in the front of the bus!” So, one by one each and every freshman got up

from the back of the bus and moved to the front of it. After about fifteen minutes my bus pulled

up to school all the freshman started to stand up however, we heard the same loud scream from

the back of the bus, “Freshman you get out last!” All the freshman were completely and utterly

scared as if we had not been already. We haven’t even walked into the school and already got

yelled at twice for being freshman. Once all the upperclassman got off then we were finally able

to get off the bus.

As I walked up the brick walkway that had black night lamps that were still on because

the sun was being covered by the clouds and the morning fog. I looked up and saw a rectangular

four level brick building with trees that had cascading branches all over the front lawn. There

was a Latin phrase engraved above the doors that said "duc tecum cor meum” which meant Lead
With Heart; this was the schools motto. The two large glass doors were so clean that you could

see every single thing that was in the hallway that you first walked into. The rooms had a dark

speckled carpet on the floor and on some of the walls however, the hallways and stairs were

covered in a white, light yellow tiles. As I walked into the two glass doors that I would be

walking into every day for the next four years I was overcome with the sense of fear. I felt an

odd feeling that I have never felt before because I was walking into the unknown.

I felt completely lost and was wondering if I had made the right decision coming to a

different school that none of my friends were going to be at. All of my friends were going to the

high school that is in our town, because it was the normal thing to do, but, my parents and I

decided that it would be better for me to go to Sacred Heart Academy because it was a college

preparatory school and the school’s reputation was much better. After, the rude encounter with

the senior on the bus I was worried that all of the upperclassmen would be like that but, I was

wrong. As I was trying to find my orientation group outside the auditorium, I heard someone

greet me with a very peppy “Hello!” I slowly turned around, not knowing if the girl was

directing that comment to me or not, and saw a brown curly haired girl who was smiling with

excitement waving to me. I did not know who this person was but, it immediately lifted up my

spirts because someone was acknowledging me.

As the girl ran up to me she said, “Hi! My name is Kelly and I am your orientation

leader!”

I looked up timidly and said, “Hi… I’m Shannon. Nice to meet you”.

Kelly then asked, “Are you excited for the new school year and to start Red and Gold?”

I then shyly replied, “Yes” while looking at the auditorium doors while fiddling with the

ring on my thumb.
 Kelly then confidently replied’ “Okay! Well let’s go into the auditorium and meet your

new best friends!”

A sense of relief came over me when I realized that my orientation leader was Kelly. She

took me and two other girls into the large auditorium and we sat in aisle ten. The auditorium had

two levels, the mezzanine and the lower level and was filled with excited, but still nervous,

freshman. The seats were cushioned with a red fabric and were extremely comfortable. I began

talking the other girls in my group soon we realized that we were on the same team as each other.

Over the summer we had to try out for Red and Gold and I made it onto Red Cheer. Red

and Gold is a dance competition that happens every year at Sacred Heart Academy. There are

five subdivisions on the red team, kick-line, dance, aerobics, spirit, and of course cheer. All of

the subdivisions come together to perform a giant routine during entrance. We have four hour

practices every weekday and on Saturdays we have eight-hour practices.

My teammates and I began talking about how nervous we were about our first practice

that we were going to have later that day and it made me feel better knowing that everyone was

feeling the same way. Soon Kelly, the Red Team captain and our orientation leader, came back

to us and we started playing the dreaded ice breaker games. She assured us that soon we would

be perfecting the SHA messy bun, hanging out with our best friends, getting the David’s cookies

every chance we can, and making the most beautiful and hilarious memories every single day at

Sacred Heart Academy.

After our orientation day it was finally time to go to my first Red and Gold practice. I felt

the same way I did that morning walking into school and going to orientation. Since it was on a

Tuesday, we had entrance practice first and then cheer after it. My friends and I walked through

the red patted doors that led into the gym and were overcome with excitement. The captains were
blasting Taylor Swift’s new 1989 album and jumping all around. The seniors, juniors, and

sophomores all had the biggest smiles on their face and were talking to each other excitedly

about the upcoming season.

All the freshman were standing to the right of the bleachers and were trying to make new

friends and find their place on the team. The gym was very bright with the sunlight shinning in

through the massive windows above the red and yellow bleachers. You could barely even hear

what the person right next to you was saying because the room was filled with girls screaming

and signing songs off the 1989 album. I felt the excitement and anticipation in the air and it put

the biggest smile on my face. I turned to the girl sitting next to me who had blazing red curly hair

and bright green eyes and said, “Hi… my name is Shannon” while I fiddled with the hair tie on

my thumb.

The girl turned to me and smiled, like a kid in a candy store, and said “Hi! My name is

Grace!”

Taken aback by how enthusiastic she was, I asked, “Oh, hi, um, are you excited to start

practicing?”

Grace, while pulling her long hair back into a high ponytail, said, “Of, course! My sister

was on the red team while she was in high school and said she had the best time.”

Hearing Grace say that her sister had the best experience while on the team and

throughout high school gave me hope that I too would fit in here. Once the whole Red Team was

in the gym Kelly got on the microphone and told everyone to find their team and for the captains

of the individual teams to put the girls on their team into their first formation, which was a long

rectangle.
 Two girls in my section who looked older then stood up and introduced themselves as the

Red Cheer captains and as they stood up you could feel a presence of anticipation around them

and knew that they were excited about the upcoming season. Their names were Katherine and

Mikayla and after they finished introducing themselves they started to read off our names to put

us in the first formation. All the upperclassmen on the team were in the front of the formation

and the freshman were in the back. Once everyone was in their formation Kelly stood up again

and said that she was going to show us the first part of the routine. All of the freshman’s jaws

were on the ground, including mine, after Kelly finished the first part of the routine. I

immediately started to doubt myself and told myself that I would never be able to learn the first

part of the routine let alone the entirety of the dance which was ten minutes long. The captains

told us all to calm down and started to teach it to us step by step. All of the upperclassman, who

were on the team, before knew all of the moves so it was easier for them to learn the routine. So,

all of the upperclassman and captains started to help the freshman and the new people on the

team learn the routine. It was extremely frustrating to keep messing up the dance moves and not

remembering what step came next, but all the upperclassmen were so supportive of us and kept

telling us that it was okay and that soon we will know how to do it. During the water break, I saw

some freshman who were crying because they couldn’t do the routine and were second-guessing

themselves and Kelly walked over to them and calmed them down.

As I left practice that day I was stressed and scared because I knew that this was going to

be a very difficult time in my life because I was going through so many different changes in my

life. However, I also left with a sense of calmness because I saw how all the upperclassman

worked together and how each one of them truly cared about everyone on the team. They were

there to help us out with not just the routine but anything that came our way throughout the
quarters. Each and every practice got better and better because I made so many best friends and

became more comfortable with learning the routines. At the end of the season it was finally time

for the night of and all of our handwork payed off because the Red Team won overall in every

single category.

When I became an upperclassman, my one goal was to let the timid freshman know that

everything was going to be okay and that these four years will be the best years of their life. So, I

decided that I would become an orientation leader. I got to talk to the freshman about their hopes

and fears about the next four years and let them know that the four years really do go by in the

blink of an eye. If Kelly told me, on my first day, that senior year I would become an orientation

leader and the person I am today I would have laughed and not believe her at all. Looking back

at the four years I was a part of the Red Team I can see that I have learned so much being a part

of a team like Red Cheer and would not trade any of the experiences I had throughout the four

years for anything in the world. It taught me so much about myself and allowed me to become a

more confident person.