Cheerleader Mom

By: April Sylvester
Mom was my biggest cheerleader...literally.
In seventh grade, I did the 200m hurdles. I will always remember one particular race. As I rounded the last curve of the track, I heard an unmistakable voice above the rumble of the crowd: "GOOOOO APRIL!!!!!!" Indeed, it was my own mother. She had cupped her hands around her mouth, taken in a deep breath, and exhaled from the bottom of her diaphragm to produce an amazingly loud sound from such a small woman. Later, mom would say that I gave her a look of utter mortification mid-stride and raced away as fast as I could. (What do you expect from a middleschooler?)
But that is exactly what mom was like--the most supportive presence in my life. Without her, I would not have gone to Tanzania or Zambia, I would not have swam swim team or played volleyball, I would not have brought friends home over breaks, I would not have survived my battle with allergies, and I would not be at Wheaton, much less graduating with a BA in Anthropology.
I would not be where I am today without my all-the-way-in, slightly-embarrassing, always-loving mom.