Being a freshman is tough, but it doesn’t always have to be boring.

Freshman Brooke Nicewaner is this year’s cheer captain for Pattonville’s junior varsity cheer team.

Getting involved is always a good idea when it comes to being in new places, like starting high school.

“I wanted to be part of a team and get involved.”

When Nicewaner joined cheer, she said she didn’t expect anything more than just being a part of the team.

“I expected to be sort of an underdog, just because I’m a freshman,” she said.

Making friends as a freshman is key, if you’re trying to get involved.

“We went to cheer camp as a team this summer,” Nicewaner said. “I made a lot of friends there, I even made friends with upperclassman.”

A lot of teams do team-bonding type activities, where a team will ‘hang-out’ to get to know each other a little better. Even though high school is busy and a lot more challenging, doing activities through school is the easiest way to get involved.

“Try hard and give it your all, even if you’re not the best, have confidence,” Nicewaner said. “The only way you can learn is to start doing something out of your comfort zone.”