Dear Future Jamie,
Remember the time… The crowd was roaring and my team and I were huddled up behind the cardboard Disney castle in the Milkhouse. The crowd was chanting, “Lets go central!!” I asked my sister if she wanted to hold hands as we walk out to compete for a second national cheerleading championship title. She said no, but with her heart racing so fast she grabbed my hand and said, “Actually yes, let’s hold hands.” Keep in mind up until this day we have never held hands. I had no time to laugh because before I knew it we were walking side by side waiting until last moment to let go of each others hands and perform in front of thousands in the arena and millions watching it live. My heart was about to beat out of my chest and I just wanted to cry. I had no time to even think before our music started. We had a good start with perfectly timed tumbling and lots of energy. The moment we all dreaded was coming, the partner stunts. We hit the first part and the second and the crowd went wild, I could tell we all hit so far. The last part of the stunt came and we all hit but one group. I heard the gasps and I felt that uneasy feeling within me. I saw the lights and everything stopped for a second and my mind went blank. My heart sunk knowing we all worked the entire year for nothing.
I ask myself till this day, what could I have done to make it hit? Walking around with everyone saying good job made me feel even worse. I hung my head low the whole rest of the day and for many after. I saw our rival team walk out with the all famous white jackets every cheerleader wants. Those satin jackets were meant to hang on my back, not theirs. We could have won that year and instead we got second place. We could have got back to back national champions and instead we failed ourselves and our supporters. I know what it feels like to fail and let people down. Not only did I let myself down, I let my team of 19 other girls down. I will never let that happen again. I can say that all I want, but I need to work to make that statement possible. Regret and guilt are two words that no one wants to feel. Sometimes we can not control it, but we can control the outcome. If you fail once, that will only motivate you to make sure it does not happen again. Use regret as motivation. The feeling of regret overpowers the feeling of succeeding. We are all expected to succeed, so when we do it is not that big of a deal, but when we fail it becomes much more substantial. Regretting something is normal but do not turn back, you can only move forward. If you hang on to it it will never change you, but it will be with you for a while like a bad haircut. Be bigger than a simple mistake. You are worth another shot, another challenge, and to become stronger. Everyone is worth the change. Make failure not an option because that is what stops you from even trying. Make faith greater than your fear. Once done that I can promise you, you will succeed. It is easier said than done, but that is the mindset that is needed.
Think about all these challenges you are about to face. When nationals rolls around, will you get so scared you let your team down again? Just read this and remind yourself you can do it. Maybe someone will want to marry you one day. Are you going to let fear stop you? Will you second guess yourself? If you do, he is not the right one. I know this is young, senseless Jamie writing to you, but I’ve seen enough movies to know.
We all think about living, we all think about dying. We try to live in the moment, but none of us ever think about what we will leave behind. We want to leave behind as little as possible. I need to ask you this. How do you think your mom will feel now that she no longer has you, or your sister that can’t come to you for anything anymore? A little morbid, but sometime these are the things you have to think about to really make a change in our lives. The little things are what push us, but the big things are what change us. Think about what pushes you, who pushes you, and what will make you succeed. Make your life the best it can be with no regrets. You get one chance, one shot, one time to make it the best and give it your all. Don’t forget that one time you let your team and yourself down. It is easy to believe in nothing, but arduous to believe in something you will not give up on. Johnny Rotten once said, “There is nothing glorious in dying. Anyone can do it.” This comes hand in hand with believing in something and not giving up on it. Its easy to give in and give up, but what will that get you? Absolutely nothing. It takes strength to keep going and try again only harder the next time. Nothing good comes out of dying besides the fact of others moving on and becoming stronger. Move on from your weaknesses Jamie. In the past I know you have felt like your all wasn’t enough. But let me tell you, it was plenty and all you had to do was keep trying because the more you kept trying the closer you got and the more motivation you gained. Its like trying to walk up an escalator going down. You can try to go up it, but it keeps pushing you down. If you go fast enough and try your hardest, chances are you will be successful and eventually reach the top. Failing once just gave me the drive to try again and prove everyone that I really can do it. Keep in mind that the only person you are competing against is yourself. Stop trying to catch up to everyone else because you will never pass them if they are the ones you are focused on. Focus on making yourself the best you you can be. You can not do anything to change if someone is better than you other than to better yourself. You have made it this far. Stop putting yourself down and never give up. Get the voice out of your head that is saying you can’t. Its you vs you, who are you going to let win?

--17 year old Jamie