I finally finished "Cheer" on Netflix. I had such a bad experience at a similar program that I didn't feel like watching past the first episode a few months ago. It was pretty accurate. Way too accurate. I might have yelled at the screen more times than I would like to admit!

My biggest gripe: We called it making the floor, not the mat. I didn't make the floor when I was 18 at Palomar College (the shame). It was very political (as you saw on the show.) I didn't really fit in and I was injured a lot which was seen as weakness by my coach.

I was also just kind of a shitty flyer because, you know, fear of heights an all But I was a hell of a tumbler. And I had to tumble at all of these events to fundraise and I was in constant pain. I tore my ab, had a giant stress fracture in my shin and tore up my shoulder.

I also developed some seriously disordered eating habits that took me until my 30s to shake. It was pretty bad, but the less I ate the better my shot at making mat. I also had a 40-hour a week job and went to school and I was told I didn't prioritize cheer enough.

There was a moment when they were performing in Daytona where I missed the adrenaline rush of performing. But other than that, I never once missed it after I walked away. Seems like it was a past life but I guess it was fun to relive it for a few hours even if I did have PTSD!

Anyways, I'm sure fans will see this thread and be like "stick to real sports!" but there are none right now so yeah, here's a photo of me as an 18-year-old college cheerleader! What the hell was I thinking with those sunglasses?!