Essay on Stress: Stuck in the Middle

The pain of having to make a decision when you are torn between two different options. There always comes a time in our lives where we are stuck in the middle of extremely difficult decisions. The choice ends up becoming all you think about, causing you to stress and worry. Knowing that both decisions have their own pros and cons, that your brain constantly flips through all day. Decisions are very difficult and have lots of different potential impacts on you now or in the future. Making the right choice for you is crucial to ensure you are happy and have no regrets. This will be my attempt to decide between quitting a sport that has been a part of my life for several years or not; by talking about how cheerleading has impacted me growing up, listing the pros and cons for the choice I have to make, and how much this decision has affected me.

How cheerleading has been a big part of my life, and how it has impacted me

growing up. Since I was six years old, cheer has always been there for me and has taught me important lessons and skills throughout the past twelve years. My coaches have taught me never to give up and strive to achieve my goals. Goal setting has always been a big part of cheer. Coaches will usually have a conversation with all the kids about their goals and expectations they have for themselves. Not only did I learn a lot about goal setting, but I also learned about teamwork. Teamwork was an important skill to have in cheer; everyone relies on everyone. Even today, you use teamwork a lot if that's a group assignment at school or job related; it's a very beneficial skill to have. Cheer has also allowed me to get to know many different types of people. The importance of this is it allowed me to see other people's points of view. One lesson I have learned and I live by is hard work pays off. I have seen this not only as an athlete but as a coach; the kids that work the hardest and put in the extra little bit of effort are always more successful in the end. The coaches in the cheerleading community have positively impacted my life, showing me that hard work pays off, how to be a team player, and never giving up. But there comes a time where you have to decide if you want to continue.

What are the pros and cons of staying in cheer, and what are they for leaving. When it comes to decision-making, a pro and con list can be very beneficial. I will start by going over the pros of both sides, then head into the cons. I have thought long and hard about staying in cheerleading; here is a list of all the positives of staying. The one that seems to be the most important for me is keeping active and staying in shape. Fitness has always been a big part of my life and something I have enjoyed. Being in cheer has helped me a lot with getting strong and staying active. We can't forget about my cheer team. I think of them as more like my second family. The everlasting connection you build with your teammates over the years is unforgettable. Another pro would be that this year cheerleading worlds might open. We would be able to attend if we got a bid, this takes place in Orlando, and it was a blast last time we went. The positives to leaving. Without the extra pressure from cheer, I could focus more on my school, allowing me to spend more time on assignments needing extra attention. I also would have more time, which lets me spend time doing things I enjoy. Some of those things would be, spending time with my friends, crafting, and going to the gym. Always with pros, there are cons involved; if there weren't, it would be an easy decision. One that showed up a lot throughout this year is I had a high-stress level. Having high stress has had effects on me and how I act. Even with that second family feeling, there have been times the gym has felt like a judgemental environment. I am sure everyone hates that feeling, and it could easily ruin someone's day. But next year, there are going to be a lot of new people on the team,  so that brings me to the cons of leaving. The thought of leaving the cheerleading community makes me sad. That is something that will always and forever be difficult to do. Me knowing this may be the last year I could be in cheer due to possibly leaving for post-secondary. The biggest one that is on the con side is missing it, having that sense of regret. The past few months have been hard and have taken a toll on my mental and physical health. 

How has this obstacle affected me? The decision has been an emotional roller coaster on my mental health and even some of my physical health. Some days are better than others but, it's hard to push away the stressful and upsetting feelings. Having the stress appear and haunt me throughout the day when knowing there isn't going to be an easy answer. Being unmotivated and unable to focus lead to me being unproductive with both school and work around the house. Since I started thinking about quitting, it has caused me to get irritated a lot easier. After having those feelings for a while, I realized I had left the problem too long. The decision started to affect how I was feeling and caused me to become very inactive. Watching how this obstacle has affected me recently taught me an important lesson. The lesson that I learned was that I need to address my issues way sooner before they start taking over my life. 

When there comes a time I have another big decision in my life, I now know to address it as soon as possible. Writing out a list of pros and cons showed me what I was thinking in a relaxed way. It didn't put too much pressure on me and allowed me to look at my thoughts and feelings rather than try to figure them out while they were in my head. This essay was made to help me by looking back on how cheer has made an impact in my life, and to help me make a list of pros and cons on both staying or leaving; to make a big decision that has been extremely hard and has affected my life recently.  The essay did help me a lot with reducing my stress but didn't help me fully with deciding what I want to do. I am now leaning towards cheerleading for one more year because I am still young, and when I grow up, I won't have as many opportunities as this.