I just want to clarify that some may only take one post...some of the echos may take a few...hell PH will take at least 12+ but here goes how it all started...I guess I need to do a little background on myself before I get to my first ex.
I am the first Canadian in my family.
My parents immigrated from another country so they have accents.
That also mean I'm kind of stuck between two cultures.
The "Canadian culture" and the "European culture".
So you see when my friends parents grew up with fixing cars and sock hops and tobaganning.
My parents grew up very very poor, lucky to share a bike with 10 siblings and to try and not to starve.
As a child I wanted to be perfect in everything but more than anything I wanted to be popular.
In 8th grade I was voted class clown (and while I was a jokester...I LOT of people would never have guessed the class clown thing). I still maintained straight As and loved school.
For me the class clown this was a way to get attention (going to be a common theme here I think) and I figured I could do this by getting people to laugh.
But by the time I got to high school things changed.
I totally withdrew unless I became extremely comfortable with the people I was surrounded by.
There is a hilarious (well now) picture of me drinking tea before my first day of school and my cool self picked out an outfit of umbro shorts and t-shirt. Carrying my home made lunch and snapple (that I picked VERY carefully the night before) in a purple nike duffel. Boy was I cool.
I was so scared that first day.
I remember somehow making it through lunch and thinking OH MY GOD people in high school are beautiful and dress so nice.
I also remember setting my bag down too hard and the glass snapple bottle shattering...so I threw it out as best as possible and headed to the bathroom to try and clean it up.
Saying I wasn't cool is the understatement of the year.
I was a nerd...I wrote math contests...I was destined to be a "late bloomer".
I joined the band, and show choir and the production of a play in my 9th grade year.
All the while looking at the beautiful popular girls and wanting to be just like them.
In 10th grade I knew I wanted a change.
A BIG change.
So that summer I made a plan.
I talked to my friend Jules (who I had known since the first grade) that had joined the Varsity Cheerleading Team at the end of 9th grade.
She told me all about it.
It used to be coached by an ex-student but now they had a real coach from a 10+time National University Championship team and it wasn't going to be a popular club.
I thought to myself...I have a chance!
Not because of my good looks or super athletic skill but because I never wanted anything more...ever.
So that summer I ran and did push ups and researched and asked Jules questions.
I remember telling my mom that I was to try out and she said "well you won't make it...that isn't your thing". Now I'm sure she said it to try and save me from the pain of rejection but I remember that it hurt so bad to hear that.
I quit band and show choir and went to Cheerleading tryouts.
Now tryouts were scary all the requisite GORGEOUS girls were there who all looked at me like I was crazy to try out.
I shut up and tried my heart out.
I wasn't the fastest runner...(actually to this day I sort of run like Phoebe from friends).
I wasn't the strongest one...but I kept trying.
And I listened to the coaches.
And when everyone complained about the physical testing I made sure I was the first to line up for it (even if I was dying and sucking in as much oxygen as possible).
The day that the list went up I was a wreck.
And I went to it and there at the end was my name.
I remember it said at the bottom that we all had to attend a special cheer camp that weekend and to meet one of the other girls Erin to get the directions after school.
I could NOT contain my smile walking up to Erin.
And when I asked for my sheet she turned and said "YOU made the team?!" (she could NOT contain her popular-girl distain).
I shakingly said "ummmm....uh-huh my name is Teagan Sawyer".
She is like "Fine whatever...(and under her breath)...this won't last long".
But it did.
It stuck.
I was hooked.
I ate,breathed and slept cheerleading.
It was my passion.
It grew me as a person.
I went from the weakest, slowest, worst person on the team.
To the MVP, and captain.
When I graduated (in Canada then it was Grade 13) my Coach made a speech where he said "you weren't the fastest, or the strongest but you had the heart the first time you tried out you had more "want" then any single person out there."
Needless to say that moment stays with me.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The first Ex is coming up...I was 17 and despite being a cheerleader I wasn't popular or all that cool but I did have a passion.
First up...Gavin.
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