Trying Out for the Texans Cheerleading Team

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? The first thing I wanted to be was a trapeze artist.

I had this VHS tape of the first Cirque du Soleil that I would watch on a daily basis. My favorite act of the circus was a family of trapeze artists, the youngest of which was a 7 year old girl that got tossed around like a rag doll. As I got older I settled on being a “jazz dancer”- a statement that was set in stone when I was interviewed on stage during my first “Showtime” with Florida Dance Workshop at the tender age of 6. By the time I was 18, I choose my major for college as Exercise Science and I guess in some ways this was the grown up version of my childhood fantasy. After all, I could always teach aerobics and still get away with wearing a brightly colored unitard. 🙂

All jokes aside- exercise is something that has always been a part of my life in one way or another. Throughout the past 10 years though I had drifted away from dance in favor or other pursuits like running, marriage, having a career, and living a “normal” life.

This past January I came across an email about the upcoming Houston Texans Cheerleading Tryouts and I immediately thought I was “too old for that.” But something kept me from deleting it the email and I am so grateful for that. Trying out for the Texans brought me back to dance and gave me the opportunity to meet some truly wonderful people.

The whole experience got me thinking…How many times do we place limitations on ourselves? How many times do we stop ourselves from doing something we want to do because we don’t think we can do it?

“It’s not who you think you are that holds you back; it’s who you think you’re not.” ~Unknown

When we are kids we are open to everything the world has to offer. We don’t think in terms of being realistic- we think about what will make us happiest and we focus on that.

In preparing for tryouts, I made 3 very good friends and we supported each other during our journey. 2 of us (myself and 1 other) even made it to the top 100 (of the original 1300) and were cut right before the interview round. Many people asked me if I was upset when I got cut, but making the team was not the important part. Doing something that I didn’t think I could was.

You’re not too old/fat/skinny/dumb to do anything unless you tell yourself that you are. Stepping outside of your comfort zone will challenge your current opinions and force you to grow. When we grow we are reminded that what we are and what we become is largely up to us.

I challenge you to try something new, something that it out of your comfort zone. You never know who you will meet or what may come of your experience. To me, this is the best part about the trend of 5K, 10K, Marathons, Mud Runs and Adventure Races. It gives everyone the opportunity to challenge what they see as possible. Constantly creating a newer, better reality is what life is all about.

What will you do this year to challenge yourself?

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