Howdy, it’s your school mascot here. I’m writing to tell you every last detail about being the Greater Latrobe Wildcat. To be 100%, completely honest with you, I would never have seen myself doing this. Then randomly, out of nowhere, I found myself at the tryouts. Once I was there, there was no turning back, I had to follow through. So yes, I tried out, and yes I made an idiot out of myself. Shout out to the other kids who tried out because they actually knew some wild dance moves.

After that, I guess is when I got into the real stuff. The first game was away, which was nice because I didn’t have to jump right into the judgement of my peers at a home game. I honestly had such a good time, the den was pretty funny, and the cheerleaders were so great. That game gave me so much hope for the rest of the season. However, the next game was a home game.

You bet I was nervous. I was dreading it all week, but some of the cheerleaders talked me out of that a little bit on game night. I did my thing, and I ignored my fears, and I had a great time. From all of the little kids asking for high fives, to all the parents asking for pictures, everything went well and I loved seeing the smiles of the community.

Although going to school the next day was ok and mostly everyone was pretty supportive, I heard that some people had some negative things to say. After hearing that, yes I was hurt, but did I let it bother me? No, because the people that enjoy the mascot, and the people who are upbeat, are so much more important to me than those who hate on it.

Not only did those people make it all worthwhile, but so did the cheerleaders and their coaches. Honestly, they’re more than just pretty faces, the cheerleaders are amazing and hilarious girls who are so much fun to be around, and the coaches are such respectable, understanding people!

Overall, being the Wildcat has been a very positive experience, and I hope that by reading this, maybe you get the idea to try out next year!