It is I who has spirit!!!!! But why, you ask? Well, a couple of reasons. One, I’m usually pretty high-spirited on any given day. And secondly, I finally got myself a cheerleader-style skirt from, of all places, Spirit Halloween! And it’s turned out to be one of my new favorite skirts!

Believe it or not, I was actually a cheerleader in elementary school! Here’s the proof:

Ahhhh, yes…the Sierra Vista Vikings (I still have my uniform)! It was the mid-90’s. I remember the complete and utter excitement that came with the yearly cheer competition, where we would meet at a local high school and perform amongst the local elementary cheer squads. Even today, I can still recall the buzz of anticipation when we would meet in the gymnasium at whichever high school was chosen for the event and teams would get ready for the big day ahead! It’d be early on a Saturday morning, and it would be a frenzy of white sneakers squeaking against the glossy gym floor, clouds of aerosol hairspray, hair glitter and high ponytails topped with fluffy bows that would make Jojo Siwa proud. I remember, in-between performances while sitting in the bleachers, I’d look across the gym and admire the other cheerleaders and how pretty their school colors were on their uniforms (ours were blue and gold; I recall thinking the Cedarwood cheer squad had the prettiest uniform colors: white and hunter green, with silver lining).

But it wasn’t just their amazing uniform colors that caught my eye. I remember seeing one particular cheerleader from Cedarwood who looked EXACTLY like Karen Brewer from the Babysitter Club’s Little Sister series, which I read voraciously as a kid. I was secretly flipping out because she had all the looks of Karen, right down to the blonde side ponytail and glasses (Karen Brewer was the first female character from a book that I admired as a kid, so this was totally crazy for my young little brain to fathom!!!).

I remember telling my mom later that Karen Brewer does not live in Stoneybrook, Connecticut afterall but she actually resides in the same city as me and goes to Cedarwood. I recall my mom saying something like, okay sweetie…

Anyway, I only did cheer during elementary school; for the remainder of my school life from middle school onward, I moved on to be the loner weirdo you now know and (maybe?) love! But I never did shed my adoration for the cheerleader look – pleated skirts and big bows – and I never want to. That’s why I’m so happy I found this lovely new skirt at Spirit Halloween, which will be a wardrobe staple for whenever I feel like channeling my inner cheerleader!!!

Although, I like now that I can accessorize the cheer look however I want – including edgy accessories and fun-printed tops that make for a more misfit cheerleader look.

I say: be your own cheerleader in life. In everything you do, every single day! 💝 And to never forget the magical moments from childhood, like when I believed for just a moment that Karen Brewer was a real person. It was like seeing a Disney princess at Disneyland, in my book!

See ya next time!!!