Cheering sections are often loud as everyone present is there to cheer for their favorite team. Throughout high school, I sat in many of the cheering sections for my high school’s football, basketball, baseball and volleyball games. Our section was ready to cheer on our team. This last year, though, I found that cheering sections are not always loud and noisy; sometimes cheering sections can be quiet, and at places other than sporting events.

The bell rang at my high school for the last four years at 7:56 a.m. This was the bell that rang as I was normally just walking in the door of our technical center late to my first hour class. The teachers would all greet me and tell me I better hurry because I was late. But on the days that I was not running late, those same halls in that technical center, is where I found my cheering section. During golf season I received pointers on my game, during fall speeches others would take time out of their mornings to listen to my speech. When softball season started, I heard congratulations after every win and was comforted when our team didn’t have a great game. During contest season I remember my cheering section asking about bugs since they knew I was working on entomology. For extemporaneous speaking, they helped me find articles and asked me about the topic I received when I went to the contest. There were times that I was not happy with how I did, so they would always help me find a way to feel at ease about my struggles. This group of students and teachers were all part of my cheering section. Sure, they challenged me and never let me off easy, but they were also a group of people that I wanted to celebrate the good times with. Missouri FFA members this next year I encourage you to find your cheering section to root you on, not only in your FFA journey but also in your life!