Literary essay new .pdf - Lyons 1 Olivia Lyons Critical...

Lyons 1
Olivia Lyons
Critical reading and composition
Jennifer Weed
31 August 2022
Literary Narrative
One time I learned to participate in a discourse community was when I joined a sport.
Throughout my childhood, I participated in a variety of different sports: swimming, gymnastics,
soccer, softball, volleyball, competitive cheerleading, and martial arts. Basically any sport you
can think of, I have played at least once. Before joining these new sports, my knowledge
consisted of what I could find off of google, but with the aid from my teammates and coaches, I
learned a lot about teamwork and polishing my skills. They educated me about the different
terminology and techniques that I should know and use.
One of the longest sports I’ve played is competitive cheer. In the public eye, there is some
controversy over the consideration of competitive cheerleading as an actual sport, or just a form
of performance. Since joining competitive cheer four years ago, I discovered that there were
some discrepancies between sideline and competitive cheerleading. Prior to starting my
cheerleading career, I can vividly remember watching football games, seeing those girls on the
sidelines, and thinking that I would partake in that endeavor. This was due to the fact that the
sport was surrounded with negative stigma, and I couldn’t make myself out to be a team player
who could put my trust into my teammates. During this time I did gymnastics; this was similar to

Lyons 2
cheer in regards to tumbling and performing in front of a panel of judges. However, the summer
before ninth grade one of my closest friends from gymnastics decided to leave the gym and join
a cheer team. At first, I was filled with sadness about her leaving gymnastics, but as time
progressed, I came to the realization that I was not feeling fulfilled doing gymnastics anymore.