1. You're always dodging questions about your sexuality.
2. You're expected to be the muscle because apparently EVERY MAN IS STRONG.
3. Your A+ scorpion is wasted because being a boy flyer is considered taboo.
4. Trying to convince your coach to let you dance with the girls can sometimes feel like pulling teeth.
5. And when you do get to dance, you are usually placed in the back...
6. ...or off to the side.
7. Pom routines are the bane of your existence.
8. The love/hate relationship you have with your megaphone is so real.
9. You're placed at the bottom of the cheer-ocracy. Literally, your opinion is the last to be heard.
10. Even when you execute the perfect herkie, your accomplishments are never fully appreciated.
11. You're frequently referred to as "one of the girls."
12. People have the weird impression that you should be wearing a skirt.
13. This assumption always makes its way into your pep rallies.
14. The haters want to know why you can't just hide your face under a mascot costume.
15. The worst is when your coach doesn't even invest in a uniform for you that matches the rest of the squad.
16. Having to face the constant judgment of 13-year-old girls in high ponies and their cheer mothers at cheer camp is soul-crushing.
17. No one ever wants to see you "do your thang" during "Little Sally Walker."
18. At camp, you spend most of your off time taking selfies in your quarantined room on the opposite side of the hall.
19. You really don't ever know what to do with your hair before a game.
20. Crafting "good luck at your game" cards and buying candy for your "secret angel" is SO AWKWARD for all parties involved.
21. Partner stretching...also awkward.
Yet, despite all these struggles, you continue to cheer because it is what you love to do.
And you have the best sisters around.
Thumbnail credit: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images // Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images // Gregory Shamus / Getty Images