People can be so closed-minded when it comes to their expectations for what a cheerleader is supposed to look like. They’re so afraid to accept “different,” when there isn’t one thing wrong with it.

It’s rare to see a male cheerleader now. Mistakenly, male cheerleaders have been stereotypically categorized as being feminine.

Stereotyping is a bad habit in general.

Cheerleading is something I love to do, and something I strive to get better at. When I told people I was a cheerleader I would always hear, “That’s not right,” “You’re stupid, Abraham.” “Just stay the way you are, you’re dumb.” These words came from the people that I thought would stick by my side.

It hurt more when it came from my family, close friends and especially my parents.

“Why Cheerleading?” It took a while for my parents to accept that their son wasn’t a basketball player, a quarterback, or the pitcher of the baseball team, which I grew up playing that position in little league.

There are always different reactions I get from being the only male cheerleader this year, sometimes they’re positive, or they turn out to be negative.

A lot of the parents and some of the students think its great. They come up to me and say to keep up the good work. A lot of them even ask about college, and if I’m going to continue cheering.

It’s great that I have people that want to see me continue and succeed. Getting a scholarship to cheer in college is my dream. Some students support me, and then there are the students that label me as “the gay, boy cheerleader.” It doesn’t affect me and I hardly complain about it like people think or expect me to. But it gets aggravating and old. I don’t understand the pleasure you get from calling someone a “faggot.” People actually kill themselves over stuff like that.

Like Drake Mallory, a cheerleader from TECC (The Elite Cheer Company), bullied for being a gay cheerleader and committed suicide.

People need to learn to be more considerate of others and their choices. Nobody should be bullied for something that they love to do.