This past summer, senior Josie McGuire was barely awake as she practiced until one in the morning at cheer camp.

In early August, the FHC Varsity Cheer Team traveled to Alma College and was being judged on their performance the following day. Their coaches wanted to ensure that the routine was as perfect as it could get. However, a whole team of exhausted teens putting all of their remaining energy into this routine late at night was disastrous, yet the team has been closely bonded since.

“We were all exhausted from the day, and our coaches wouldn’t let us go to bed until each of us individually tested out,” Josie said. “All we wanted to do was shower. We all started crying, and it was kind of nice. We were calling our moms [saying] ‘pick me up,’ but [then], the next day, it was kind of funny to look back on, and now we all still talk about it.” 

Josie has been cheering for around eight years. Her mom signed her up one day, and she hasn’t looked back since. 

Depending on who she is around, Josie sees herself as somewhat of an introvert. If the people she is around are more outgoing, she will act the opposite, and vice versa. However, when it comes to cheer, Josie feels like she can be more of herself around her teammates.

“At the beginning of the season, I’m usually pretty introverted just because we’re getting to know everyone,” Josie said. “As [the season] goes on, I get more and more extroverted and become really close with everyone. It’s like a big family.”

Throughout her time in high school, Josie has learned that taking time to spend alone improves her performance. She doesn’t see refinement only in a cheer aspect, but also in her school work and assessment scores.

Taking a few minutes to spend by herself, whether it is listening to music or making a hot cup of herbal tea, helps Josie reset and relax making her more ready to take on anything.

“If I’m busy doing too many activities, I just don’t have time to reset,” Josie explained. “It’s like I get out there and I’m more tired. So I feel like I don’t perform as well. Whereas if I have that time by myself to just calm down, I feel like I can do better and put my best out there.” 

Sadly, after eight memorable years of cheer, Josie has decided to not continue in college. Drawn in by their beautiful campus and kind students, she will be attending Texas Christian University for business.

Just because Josie is not cheering in college does not mean that she won’t miss it. She adores her teammates that have grown to become family, but she wants to leave herself open to trying new things.

“[Ending my final cheer season] was really sad,” Josie said. “It was like a chapter of my life was ending. But it was also kind of bittersweet, so I’m excited to move on to new things in the next chapter of my life.”

Josie is looking at leaving cheer as a way to discover new aspects of herself and joining new clubs and groups. She’s excited for this because if she does not end up liking whatever it is that she joined, she can always try something new.

Josie’s high school experience would have been extremely different had she not joined cheer. She hopes that everyone can be a part of some sort of team or club so that their four years of high school can be just as memorable.

“It doesn’t have to necessarily be cheer, but just get involved,” Josie said. “Because everything at school, like all the clubs, can become one big family. But especially with cheer, I feel like you just get so close, and it’s really hard to leave.”