What's Your Inspiration?

To me, inspiration is something that stimulates you to do creative work. Well, cheer is what gets me this way. I have been cheering for nine years now and I wouldn't change anything about it. I have cheered in Illinois and in Missouri and it amazes me how different the rules are, even though we are so close to one another. Something about cheerleading just gives me a sudden adrenaline rush; I don't know if it is the tossing, jumping, stunting, or cheering itself, but i love every thing about it. When I am cheering I suddenly get into a better mood and my creative side comes out. I can always think of stunts, routines, and chants that are very creative and challenging. Whenever I am faced with a challenge in cheer, I am always more determined to conquer it and be the best I can be at it. To me, the two poems below are what cheerleading is all about, behind the glamour.

I believe that cheer has made me a better person, and shaped me into the person I am today. Cheerleading has helped me learn to have a better attitude about certain things in life. The cheerleaders are the people who have to be positive about everything, win or lose. Because I am so used to doing this at football and basketball games, I do it in normal everyday life. I think cheerleading is so important to me because I have been doing it for so long and it has helped me in so many situations. People may not understand what  I mean when I say that it has helped me, but I mean that it is a place I can release my anger and stress. Instead of releasing these things in bad ways, I can release them in a positive way, keeping a positive attitude about it.

I am a cheerleader.

I must wear my uniform with pride and respect

or when serving in the role which my uniform places me.

I must accept the fact that I am no longer a volunteer.

Oligations to the "team" mean that I

am punctual for practice and never murmur when

called upon to do the related duties

that a cheerleader performs.

I will never allow my conduct, thoughts, attitudes or emotions

to betray the trust that others have placed in me

as a member of the team.

Now I lay me down to rest,

I've tried my hardest and done my best

to stunt, jump, dance, and cheer,

with the sharpest of motions and no trace of fear.

I know in the morning my body will ache

but, for what I love it's a price I gladly pay.

Thank you, God for making me strong

with determination and commitment

when practices are too long.

And Lord if I shall die before I wake,

I'll know I've shown the world,

Cheerleaders were born, not made.

Reading Response 2: Mistaken Identity

The girl in the hospital was thrown fifty feet from the van and was on a respirator. When the paramedics got her, she was breathing on her own, but they hospital felt it was a better idea to put her on a respirator so that her body could concentrate on healing itself. Because she had a brain injury, the doctors inserted a tube in her skull as a pressure-monitoring device. This girl was one of four survivors in the accident, and her injuries were the worst. Doctors stated that she is lucky to be alive. When the nurse handed the family the girls belongings, the family realized that those, in fact, were not their daughters. None of the items matched anything Laura owned, but they did not think much of it.

"Memories of Laura flashed through his head, along

with the fear that he would never enjoy such moments again."

The way the book is set up, the chapters go back and forth between the two families, which is why I am kind of going chapter by chapter. I believe this passage is significant because it describes how families can get through situations like this and explains that there is always going to be someone that is there for you, whether it is one person or a hundred people. The thought of this happening is so terrifying to me, and the fact that it did happen is still extremely shocking. It kind of makes you wonder how many other times it has happened to families in the past.



First line, Last line

My first line: The past is a foreign country; they dothings differently there.
- "The Go-Between," L. P. Hartley

My last line: So we beat on, boats against the current,borne back ceaselessly into the past.
- "The Great Gatsby," F. Scott Fitzgerald

Reading Response 1: Mistaken Identity

This book is about Whitney Cerak and Lauren Van Ryn. One of these girls is buried under the wrong name, and the other is in the ICU being cared for by the wrong family. The two were in a Taylor University van on their way back to the Upland campus from Taylor's in Fort Wayne. On the way back to campus the van was in an automobile accident and the two girls looked very similar, causing the police to mix them up.

I have not gotten very far in this book, but this is what I have read so far and it honestly is terrifying. I can not imagine going through what these families are going through, and then finding out that it was all a mistake. Getting one families hopes up, and crushing another family, then soon switching it all up. If I was the Van Ryn family, I would be absolutely devistated to think that my daughter was alive and well in the hospital and to soon find out that the girl in the hospital, is actually the girl that is buried.

These are my only thoughts on this book right now, but I will keep you updated. :)

Things About Me

1. My name is Jessica Hamer.
2. I was born and raised in Danville, Illinois.

3. I moved to Springfield, MO in the middle of the second semester of my sophomore year.
4. Brock Johnson is my boyfriend.
5. I am a twin, and I have three older siblings.
6. I am a senior at Parkview High School.
7. Cheerleading is my favorite sport.
8. I have been cheering for ten years now, and I am a flyer.
9. I want to go to MSU or Drury for college.
10. I intend on cheering for one of these universities.
11. The mascot for Parkview (Vikings) is the same mascot for my previous high school.
12. I love to swim.
13. I could live off of breadsticks and dinner rolls.
14. My bestfriend is Brittany Lawson.
15. My favorite movie is Taken.
16. My favorite book is Mistaken Identity.
17. My favorite seasons are fall and spring.
18. Football is my absolute favorite sport.
19. I am not very good at writing poems.
20. I enjoy long strolls on the beach.
21. Boots and cheer shoes are my favorite.
22. I have been in volleyball, basketball, soccer, track, cross country, and softball growing up.
23. I played soccer for 11 years.
24. I lived in the same house from the time I was born until I moved to Springfield.
25. I am currently thinking about majoring in Accounting or Psychology in college.
26. My favorite sport to cheer for is football.
27. The Pittsburgh Steelers are my favorite NFL team.