Leah of the Pack

When I was young ... I remember watching my neighbor's cheerleading showcase at the high school. It was the first time I had seen actual cheerleading, not just the stuff in movies or on TV. After watching the team throw each other high in the air and tumble with ease, I knew that someday I wanted to be like them.

When I was in elementary school.. I remember the high school cheerleaders came into our classroom to talk to the girls about the Jr. Indians Cheer Program. From the moment I received their handout, I knew that I wanted to join. I remember that first Jr. Indians cheer practice. I didn't know how many times it was acceptable to roll my Soffee shorts or  exactly how to do a proper high-v but from the moment that practice started, I was hooked.

When I was in 8th grade... I had my first actual cheerleading tryout. With a timid smile and only a round-off to show as my tumbling skill, I was nervous. Luckily, we all made the team and that year launched my official obsession with cheerleading. I remember trying to fall asleep at night, envisioning myself  doing round-off back handsprings across the gym - there was nothing I wanted more than that skill. Being the last of my sisters to master the skill, I promised myself I would work harder to be the first of us to get more advanced skills.

When I was in 9th grade... I landed my first standing tuck. I remember that day like it was yesterday. Four of us decided to just throw the skill after coaching Jr. Indians and like magic we all landed. From then on, I knew I could achieve any goal I had in cheerleading.

When I was in high school... I was 100% in a committed relationship with cheerleading. Cheer was where the majority of my friends were, competition days were the best days of the year, and cheerleading was where I made all of my lasting memories.

When I was in college... I spent the majority of time at cheer practice, cheering at games or at cheer related events. Although it took up so much of my time, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The skills we did were different than what I was used to in high school so I constantly strived to improve myself. Even after suffering a season ending injury early in my freshman year, I continued to push myself to reach my full potential.

Tonight is the last time I will probably ever walk into a practice with the title "cheerleader." This weekend brings cheer tryouts for our school which means the current cheer season will be over and my time as a cheerleader will be done. It's crazy to think that after 11 years spent in a cheerleading uniform, on the sidelines of sporting events and with a bow in my hair, I won't ever do those things as a cheerleader again. But the thing about a passion is that it never dies. If you're truly passionate about something, it stays with you forever so I know that someway, somehow, my time being involved with cheerleading is not over. Maybe I'll be a coach, maybe I'll be judging competitions, whatever the case I know cheerleading will always be a part of my life.

It's not a goodbye, cheerleading, it's a see you later.

This weekend my friends and I went out exploring nature. Green Bay in fall is beautiful. We headed to Baird's Creek to take in the sights of #GBtrees. I like nature, I like hiking, I'm also not one of those people that would spend two weeks camping to become one with the world or whatever. So just for fun, not that you were curious, here are my most common thoughts while out taking in fall.

1. I'm so pumped. Fall, trees, beautiful. It's gonna be awesome.
2. It's also 40 degrees out so I'm gonna freeze my ass off but it's worth it.
3. Look at that trees, it's so orange. Now look at that tree... it's so yellow. Just look at all the trees!
4. This is a pretty steep incline. I'm gonna have the legs of a goddess after climbing this.
5.  Oh look, a big tree hanging off a cliff, lets go in for a closer look
17. What a day. I love nature. We should do this more often. Nature walks every weekend. It was legit awesome.
18. I'm freaking cold.

Hi and thanks for reading! When I first started this blog I wrote an introduction here but for recent  purposes I figured I'd give that intro a quick makeover.

A few things remain the same: I'm still Leah and I'm still writing but I'm shifting gears on this blog a bit to focus on my independent study for class this fall. As a journalism student I am always looking for real world writing experience or any writing experience in general. So while I'll continue to write posts similar to previous posts, I'll also be writing "articles" if you will, on the topics of my choosing to further enhance my learning. This blog is going to be a fun mix of buzzfed and news articles but a little less heavy on the hard news.

If you're thinking "why?," I am writing simply because in order to be a good writer you need to write! Does that mean I'm going to be writing in the future? Who knows, there are a million things I wish to do with my degree. I am currently pursuing a degree in communications with a triple emphasis in journalism, mass media and public relations. When I was younger I always saw myself as a journalist and while I still love writing, there are many other interests I have found in the realm of communications. I currently serve as the social media and marketing intern for UWGB Residence Life. I get to run all the social media for residence life as well as write blog posts for our website. As of this summer, I have gotten to be a part of the UCA Staff social media team which has been awesome. Working in social media after graduation would be a dream come true!

Now to the fun stuff.

I'm all about lazy Netflix days or spending the day getting a tan while reading a good book. I also enjoy spending money on over priced drinks downtown while having a great time with friends. I like a wide variety of music and I want to eat sushi 24/7. There are probably about a billion other things I could list here that helps define who I am but I'll let you figure that out for yourself!

Anything else you need to know or if you have any questions, comments, concerns or suggestions feel free to contact my by filling out the contact form at the bottom of this page. Otherwise twitter is a great way to get in contact!

Thanks for reading!

Turning 21 is a big deal: you can legally drink and no longer have the fear of not being able to get into a club or being asked to leave a pub or a bar when the night rolls around... unless you're one of the few {like me} that are look like you hardly can pass for 19 let alone 21.