Life of a twirler

The moments twirlers go through every week.

So this past week, I had a competition and got second place for my show routine.  Which is not bad but I expected more of myself.

My song was Wings by Little Mix. I wore a bright orange costume with the back open and I did one, two and three baton.  I then stayed for the rest of the competition just so I could get gym time, and one of the seniors asked me to twirl with her for a project.  We took a video, and she had me pick tricks. After a few tries we did the tricks well enough for her project.  In the video, we did a double catch left a small toss in the back, a split into a two baton trick then a turn under into another two baton trick.

This week, I have spent a total of seven hours practicing so far.  That is about my usual and this week one of the main things I have been working on is two baton.  I honestly love two baton so much; every time I perform and I get my two baton the crowd starts clapping.  It is such a nice feeling to have so many people applaud you on something you feel is too easy or even something you might drop but just barely grabbed onto.  If you are new to twirling, I highly recommend getting into competitions.  They are so fun and there is no feeling on Earth like being in front of a crowd doing the thing you love.

I am going to tell you a secret, there are only a few people that know.  I absolutely LOVE being in front of a judge and being the center of attention.  At small competitions, there are typically one hundred people in the crowd.  When a whole room of people is watching you and you have a flawless routine, walking off of the floor is such a relief.  Of course I am terrified walking on but by the time I am done the only thing running through my mind (besides trying to figure out how breath without looking like I am dying) is that I could not have done better.  There will be people in life that try to knock you down by saying “you are not good enough, you dropped this, this, and this”, well did you see them go in front of hundreds of people and perform?  Most likely not!  Having the courage to go out there and perform is one of the best things you could do.  Even if the routine was bad and you get a good score, you still got out there and tried. So it’s okay!

My favorite trick that I have been working on this week is a toss illusion.  Illusions are like an ariel in place without jumping.  This trick is so fun; for me it is pretty easy, but I still enjoy doing it.  It is such a graceful and neat trick!  Well sometimes it is graceful.  There have been a few times that I did it and failed miserably, but it is okay because everyone can mess up sometimes. Right?!

https://youtu.be/0s5EkxzTiDw