Richie’s Spirit Foundation Scholarship

Essay Part A: Briefly describe a significant challenge you have faced in your life. (100 to 250 words)

Fall of 2009, I entered Hallandale High School as “fresh meat.” Being such a shy individual, it was hard for me to make friends. My best friend, Diana, inspired me to become active in school. Diana was a cheerleader so I decided to follow in her footsteps. The cheerleaders at my school were the leaders of the school. In my eyes I didn’t fit the description. I was a freshman who sat by themselves before, during, and after school. It was impossible to become one of the girls. All that ran through my mind was performing in front of people and messing up. I would be the laughing stock at school.
Try-outs quickly approached and my fear was at its peak. I somehow swallowed my fear and entered the gym with some hope. When I saw how many girls were trying out, I made a u-turn to my house. Diana called as soon as a walked into the door. I told her what had happen and she was extremely disappointed. She explained the benefits of being a cheerleader and how it would help me get out of my shell. Fortunately, Diana’s words stuck with me the next day. I went to try-outs with a new mind set.
For the next two weeks, I gave all that I could. On September 21st I tried out for Hallandale High School’s cheerleading squad. On September 22nd I was apart of the cheerleading squad. A new chapter of my life had begun.

Essay Part B: Describe how you overcame this challenge. Tell us how it has shaped you as an individual. (250 to 500 words)

While trying out I felt like I was an apple trying to be an orange. It didn’t feel right. We had to learn 10 cheers and two dances. Being a slow learner, I struggled to keep up. I never did anything like this in my life before. Cheering was like a foreign language to me. You had to be stiff like a rock