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Becoming comfortable in high school was a feeling I wanted no part of. To me, staying in my element and allowing stagnancy meant stopping development. If I couldn't learn to manage awkward situations, how was I ever going to grow?

Junior year rolled around and since I was over the uncomfortable, awkward stages of freshman year, I decided it was a good time to jump out of my element. First let me give you some background information.

If you had bumped into me as a freshman, you would have encountered an apathetic, disgruntled person that you would never associate with a cheerleader. I had never wanted to be part of school activities, let alone attend school at all, so you could probably guess that my school spirit was dismal at best.

When I first came up with the idea of becoming a cheerleader, I didn't only surprise myself. When word got out that I was actually going to try out and I wasn't joking, I received very mixed reactions.

Stammering and "Are you joking?!?" were always the first reactions. Some people were really supportive, excited for me even. But more often than not, I got laughed at. I was told that I could never do it, told that "people like me" can't be cheerleaders.

Curiously enough, the people closest to me treated me like wanting to be a cheerleader was some sort of affliction, as if the mere desire reflected huge faults in my character, a betrayal of everything people expected me to be.

But that was my point exactly. I didn't want to be what people expected me to be, I wanted to do things that made me happy, and it just so happened that cheer was one of those things. Becoming a cheerleader wasn't about the pom-poms, and it certainly wasn't about supporting my school's spirit.

To me, it was about breaking free from a hole people had pegged me into, and more importantly than that, it was about something less selfish than my own rebellion. It was about belonging to something bigger; belonging to a team. When you're part of a team you have a group of people that you have to rely on, and that rely on you.

It was good fortune that I was discouraged, for that is what provided me with the determination to succeed. In the beginning, cheerleading was a mission to me, a chance to prove people wrong, but it slowly grew into a very rewarding experience that didn't bear the resemblance of my first intentions.

Foolishly, I assumed cheerleading was going to be easy. Boy, was I wrong. The first week alone, even before tryouts, tested my stamina and pride more than I ever could have imagined. Pair long, physically grueling practices with a full time job in the month of December, and you'll end up with a ridiculous 14-hour day schedule. Every night when I came home, I instantly crawled in bed exhausted, but surprisingly happier than the day before.

I also didn't realize how much being on the team would affect my life. First off, the time commitment was incredible, having practice 5-6 days a week, plus game time. In the beginning, I had a hard time juggling work, play, school and cheer. But seeing how I had made a commitment to each of these, I persevered. As I said before, each night I left practice feeling good about myself. My body was happy and I was slowly becoming a happier person in general. In fact, my family, friends and sometimes even random acquaintances started noticing an uplifted disposition.

Of course, all of this was a slow transition. I didn't magically become an optimist overnight, just like I didn't become a great cheerleader overnight. Slowly throughout the season, I started bonding with a great group of girls. This was a strange friendship for me, since I have always preferred males as friends. I discovered the possibility of opening up to females and appreciate their friendship too.

Looking back on the season, I'm proud. I'm proud that I took risks to do something completely different and that I didn't let nay-sayers decide what I could and could not do.

My experience taught me that hard work and involvement in a team are sure-fire ways to achieve happiness. There are people who thought that cheerleading would change the person that I am, but it's more like cheerleading affirmed and improved the person that I am.

It just goes to show that trusting your gut and taking risks is more rewarding than playing it safe and doing what people want you to do. No matter what, don't be afraid to be yourself.

• Shea Wilcox is a junior in her second year in Ali McKenna's Juneau-Douglas High School "Writing for Publication" class. She enjoys Chinese food, swimming, Girl Scouts, tanning, the Internet, unicorns, Captain Crunch cereal, making friendship bracelets, working in a jewelry store and CHI Ionic Ceramic Infrared Hairspray.

From the Hallways is a column showcasing the thoughts and opinions of students in McKenna's high school journalism class and Sarah Brooks' Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School writing workshop.