Today Bryan had his cheerleading national competition with his team, the KR Steppers. If you study in NUS, you'd most probably know that the KR Steppers are really good and pretty popular in school.
I went down to support him, because, well, to be honest, besides supporting him, I also wanted to see what the fuss is all about. As a _______ (
insert appropriate label for my relationship to him), we've had our fair share of arguments, and sometimes, they involve being unhappy because we don't get to spend enough time together. A huge chunk of his spare time goes to cheer. They train every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. When nationals were nearing, they trained every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The past week or so, they've been training every day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. How insane is that? And it's not just the training times, which already end really late, at about 12am-1am. They have to clear up, wind down, take a shower, sometimes they go for suppers which end really late. I'm not a
needy person - I hate being dependent on others. But these few weeks, I guess working on the honours thesis has really made me quite vulnerable, and sometimes, though I have my friends and family, it's just easier to talk to Bryan about my sadness and insecurities. So, it gets really tiring sometimes. Having to wait for him for many days. Till he's done and able to talk to me through Skype. Most of the KR people are attached to one another. I think they have it way easier. Regardless of what time training ends, they can pop into each other's rooms and well, cuddle. Or sleep in each other's arms. A
hug can do so much more than a call over the phone can, and, as opposed to that, a Skype conversation, and also a text message through Whatsapp.
All in all, it was difficult being in my position. Because on the one hand you know that he is extremely passionate about what he's doing, yet you don't
fully understand it, and on the other hand, sometimes, he is unhappy with the amount of sacrifice he has to make, and tells you about it. Bryan seldom complains though, which I think is admirable considering the number of bruises he's received from being whacked and all the aches and pains he's had.
So today, I went to Downtown East not really knowing what to expect - besides many enthusiastic and loud people (which there were, by the way.
Super enthusiastic and
super loud people). Other teams went first, and as I watched them perform, I learned to see the slight differences amongst teams. Some just had that swag, and their passion shone through. Others were brilliant in technicality but lacked in emotion. Some just were plain boring. Some were exciting because you could feel the enjoyment rolling off of the performers in waves. I finally understood why Bryan loves cheerleading so much. He's been doing it since JC, and he's really good at what he does. I finally understood his frustrations over letting stunts fall, as if they were his responsibility and his alone; I finally understood all the physical pain he went through, and how he pushed his boundaries, facing his fear of doing a back tuck.
I feel so proud of him. I just feel so happy for him that he didn't give up despite facing many difficulties (some of which originated from me. I'm being honest here; I can be quite the pain-in-the-arse sometimes), and that he did his utmost best for the preparation period and the competition. I'm also happy that every time we argued about this, we worked things out, and we both tried to be as understanding as we could, that I could actually go down to his competition and support him without any ill-feelings. I had always liked to watch all the videos he sent me, of routines from his team and from others, because they were so awesome to watch - but today I actually witnessed teams doing routines in materiality! It was amazing. I had so much fun.
I'm really glad I met you, Bryan Tong. (': I'm so glad to know someone of your personality, character, charm and wit. I'm thankful for all the patience that you've shown me. I love you very much bb!
Labels: b, cheerleading, Love, of special people
