Beyond The Bows

By Isabelle Sanchez

Joining cheerleading as a freshman, Jazmin Lozano found a place where she could grow, connect, and build lasting friendships.

 Starting out as a backspot that position came easy to her making her transition into high school cheer easy she felt like she could accomplish anything. A backspot is someone who holds the back side and is a support for a person who is in the air. For Jazmin cheerleading became more than just a sport,  to her it became something that she created meaningful bonds and lasting memories. 

One of her most valuable lessons she learned was how to make friends and to step outside of her comfort zone. At first when she joined the team she was really shy and she would be nervous to speak up about anything and she would usually be alone most times. While she had many connections, she bonded deeply with her teammate Isabelle which created a strong friendship that stood out to her during her time on the team. 

They first talked over sock tan lines because everyone was showing theirs and Lozano’s was really noticeable so Isabelle was in shock, they became inseparable after that.After Jazmin started talking to Isabelle she started speaking up and using her voice. She finally found herself a friend she can laugh with and always do everything together like how she would see everyone else. They would always get ready with each other before games and that made Lozano feel really happy because she finally wasn’t alone and it encouraged her to talk to other people when she learned dances or when they were practicing stunts which is when they would do cool poses in the air.

Some of her best memories on the team was when they would have games she would get excited when they would dance during halftimes and cheering during the game. The homecoming game against Andrew Hill was super exciting because there were a lot of people and whenever her team would call out a cheer everyone in the stands would go crazy. When halftime was about to come up Lozano and her team went to the side of the bleachers to practice, and when it was time to perform after weeks of practice she felt good.

Lozano: “My favorite memories are when they would win the games.” 

Lozano would get the rush of adrenaline and that would help her not be nervous or scared to be in front of a lot of people. She also liked her practices because she would always laugh with her teammates whether they were learning a dance or they were doing stunts. She always had fun, everyone would laugh and be together as a group which made the team strong. Since joining cheer her life has transformed in a major way her circle has expanded and she found herself talking to people who she never thought she would talk to before.

Lozano: “An important part of cheer that I learned was how to make friends.”