12.26

I remember when some high school boys mooned us right here. It was back in middle school, before I got injured on the cheer leading squad. We were on our way to an away game at this school. School was out for the day, but the cross country or track teams always ‘practice’ in the afternoon. As the bus was pulling into the driveway, these two high schoolers pulled down their shorts. It was rather gross. And not just because boys have cooties. The most prominent detail was how pale white their ass cheeks were. How sad.

They obviously knew who we were. They saw a bus full of little girls and thought they’d act all cool. Most of the other girls took to it right away, but I wasn’t fooled! Obvious assholes. It also didn’t help that not many of the other girls liked me or talked to me on a regular basis, so I was sitting nearer to the front by myself. I caught the last glimpse of the boys once I turned around after hearing all the other girls starting their ridiculous giggles.

I don’t actually remember anything about the game that night. It was always slightly boring. And I never actually cared about winning enough to keep track of my own team. I was just there to say I once participated in a school team sport. And that was also the only other time I was at this particular high school. Until recently, when I started working there. But as that is the only memory I have of this place, I sort of went in with a bad impression. Like, all the boys are sluts or something. Which is probably why all the Island hoes had significant others from this area.

11.14

I remember when my team earned these. And it included us cheerleaders, because we cheered the team into victory! Well, almost. The football team landed in second place in the league that year. Plus, my cheer team won first place out of sixteen teams at that year’s competition. We managed that again the following year.. But this was a great year. Despite all of us being eight and nine years old, we worked hard for those accomplishments. We wanted to win, so we did our best to get there.

Little league is obviously not considered as big of a deal, but it meant something to all of us. Very few people will take a child seriously, so this was a way for us to prove that we had willpower. It definitely helped that we had some awesome coaches that year. For football and the cheer team. They somehow put up with all of us and pushed us higher.

This is just a little token we got from our banquet that year. It’s supposed to be one of those patches for a varsity jacket, but my mom would never let that much money come out of her ‘hubby’s money/shopping fund.’ I didn’t mind, I wasn’t big into jackets and showing off my sport achievements. I’ve obviously kept it safe though.. for over 15 years. That time in my life meant a lot to me. It was the hardest I’ve tried to please my own mother before giving up.

5.29

I remember winning this trophy with my team. We were just a little league cheer leading team, but I consider first place quite an accomplishment. For a team of skinny little 8 year old girls to beat 15 other teams of skinny little 8 year old girls is a big thing! We worked hard to earn this trophy. We worked hard to be better than every other team in the area. In a few short months, we synchronized our ambition and drive. We worked together every day at practice to become an unbeatable force.

Being a part of something like that can only do so much for a girl in our society, but to watch ourselves claim the glory of first place two years in a row gave me a road to follow. It helped me mold my own achievements. I saw dedication and passion lead to something I could be proud of. And at some point, I didn’t need the constant reassurance by others that I was doing well. I knew it. I knew I was becoming someone more stable than my own peers. They had no guidance, and it showed.

I don’t keep this trophy for any particular reason. In fact, I didn’t acquire the team trophy until after my dad volunteered as president of the organization for a year. It was sitting in the club house collecting dust. I figured I could give it a better home, but it serves no purpose. I learned the lesson I needed, and I’ve been able to remind myself of such every day since we won.