Elliot Fylstra|Marlin Chronicle
Many of us could be making much better use of our free will. While there is a constant struggle between professional and personal life balance, the oddities of our passions may sit on the backburner in favor of more approachable interests. Time and money can be intense constraints, but if you take your guilty pleasures more seriously, you can have a lot more fun.
I love cheerleading. I have not played sports in any capacity since middle school, nor have I ever done cheer or dance, but I love watching cheerleading. It gives me chills to see the elaborate and gravity-defying routines groups of people from all ages come up with. So much time and effort is put into these routines, only for the teams to be on stage for 2 minutes and 30 seconds; I admire that immensely. Since graduating high school, I have not been in many shared spaces with cheerleaders, let alone at events where they perform — especially given VWU’s lack of a football team (no offense). Watching short-form cheer videos on Youtube has not come close to the awe-inspiring performances I used to see. Last month, I found that a Cheer 4 Charity Grand National Championship would be held here in Virginia Beach and decided then and there that I needed to be in attendance. While I didn’t expect anyone to share such an odd passion, I still mentioned it to friends in excitement. I found that my good friend and roommate, McKenna Howenstine, was just as crazy as me. We scraped together the spectator admission cost and had the time of our lives watching cheerleading for 13 consecutive hours — starting before 8 a.m., mind you.
As McKenna and I were clapping and hollering for the many all-star teams that performed, a ‘cheer mom’ approached us and, unintentionally, singled us out as unrelated spectators. She unobtrusively thanked us for clapping for all the teams, not just “whoever we were affiliated with,” and said that watching us be so excited made her excited. After admitting that, no, we didn’t actually know any of the teams, none of our excitement faded and it wasn’t weird afterwards. We all continued to have a great time, enjoying the competition.
I am not preaching that you go and spend an entire Saturday at a cheerleading competition, but I am encouraging you to pursue your niches. You do not have to be previously connected to something to enjoy it, nor does it have to be popular. It seems that most college students’ hobbies have fizzled out to watching movies or listening to music — which are barely hobbies in the first place. Outside of school, sports and partying, many do not have an activity they typically look forward to in their free time. Having a list of things you like to do for fun can bring such wealth into your life, creating a spark to get you through the week. Any small passion can be blown up if you take your happiness more seriously. For the majority of you that do list music and movies as your hobbies, try a listening party at a record store, or go to a short film festival; pick up a microphone or camera if you’re brave enough.
It is absolutely silly to seek out a dog show just to go watch, or to actively plan your day around hobby horsing. But, if that’s your thing, or you think it might be your thing, by all means pursue it. It will make your life more fun and probably be even more fulfilling than you imagined. Make it something just for you, like a gift to yourself, or open it up to your loved ones. The response you get may surprise you!
MJ is a sophomore studying Earth & Environmental Science. She is The Weekender Editor for The Marlin Chronicle.
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle
By MJ Matthews
