The furniture in your
room is arranged to create the largest open space possible
in order to practice.
You critique the technique
of twirlers and dancers that you see on TV.
Even if you are terrible
at maths, counting to eight is no problem for you.
You have an entire closet
filled with old costumes and practice clothes.
If seated, you cannot
listen to music without mentally choreographing a routine
in your head.
You can apply full make-up
in 5 minutes (Bonus points if you can do it in a moving
car.)
Hallways are always
a place to practice leaps.
You own more leotards
than formal gowns.
You can fix anything
with safety pins.
Costume catalogs are
captivating reading material.
Seeing someone do splits
does not send you into shock.
S t r e t c h i n g
is not just something you do for a few seconds when you
roll out of bed in the morning.
Baton Twirling is the
first item you write down when asked to list your hobbies.
Your parents yell at
you to "Come Watch This!" when a twirler is on
TV.
You find yourself walking
in-step with people at school/work.
For you, the year is
divided not by weather seasons but by competition/parade/display
seasons.
You say, 5,6,7,8 instead
of Ready, Set, Go.
You rate surfaces for
their turn potential.
You walk into a room
and immediately look at the ceiling height.
You love to get into debates about whether twirling is a
sport.
When you have more baton
bags stuffed with batons than will fit into your closet
You think sore muscles
are something people live with.
You have more trophies
than shelves.
You have worn holes
in at least one pair of baton shoes.
When you hear marching
music, you want to scream to turn it off.
You twirl anything in
your hand even if it's not a baton.
The night before a competition,
instead of falling asleep, your mind is running through
all of your routines.
Waking up early and
going to bed late is not a problem for you.
You can fall asleep
anywhere even when there is loud music playing.
Finding yourself sitting
on the edge of your seat with your ankles crossed and your
hands folded is no longer weird.
You can sing marching
music for 24 hours without ever messing up.
You pick up anything
and start throwing it around... long skinny objects are
no longer needed.
You start having a seizure
when someone is not stepping with the beat of the music
Having to change uniforms
in 2 seconds doesn't stress you out.
You don't even care
if you broke a nail. Again.
You feel like an old
lady in need of a hip replacement from illusion after illusion.
When you hear any music
you wonder if it has show twirl, freestyle or team possibilities.
When you're in gym class
and you have to do hurdles, the teacher yells at you because
you are doing leaps but you find it physically impossible
to bend your knee like that.
If your hair always
looks like it is up or has been up for a very long time
that it permanently stays like that.
When competition season
is your favourite part of the year and you can't wait for
that hairspray/sweat mixed scent.
When as soon as you
get home from nationals you wish you could go back and stay
there for the entire year.
When you had to take
the reflex test in school you had the highest in your class.
When instead of doing
what you are supposed to do with the gym equipment, you
twirl it.
People think your parents
abuse you because of all the bruises.
If you feel frustration
when someone says the word "rolls".
If you knew the word
"ambidexterity" before most of your friends.
If proportionately you
miss more school than twirling lessons/events.
If you take ballet because
you know it will help your twirling.
If your VCR tape collection
includes more twirling tapes than movies.
When you don't even
flinch when a baton comes at your head
When your calves are so big they
won't fit into your boots
