I've been in a tornado of emotions these past couple of weeks between the loss of a friend and my upcoming audition for The Denver Bronco's Cheerleaders. Now, the audition may not seem like a big deal to you, but to me it's a huge step outside my comfort zone. It's both physically and emotionally confronting as I prepare for my 35th birthday and all of the tags that I've already removed from my first run dancing professionally in the NBA and the AFL. 

I released some Instagram stories last week that were strong and emotional. There have been moments where I wonder if it was #toomuch, but then I remember that I'm so tired of showing up #filtered and hiding parts of my life from view so that people will accept me. 

After my stories were released, I received a message from a woman that I've never met. She said that she has been auditioning for professional sports dance teams since the age of 28, she's now 43. She said that even through fighting cancer for 5 years, she continued focused on this dream and hasn't let up. Her resilience amazed me and I was so inspired by her story. What shocked me was the end of her message where she thanked me for my vulnerability and described being mocked and laughed at because she auditions. 

Due to the backlash I receive, I can completely relate to what she was saying about her own and my heart met hers in such a broken and also empowered place. Together we will continue to chase this dream unapologetically because it's our dream and nobody else's to highjack. I'm not naming her name but if you're her and you're reading this, your message meant the world to me. #cheerleader

www.tearoutthetags.com

Bee Evans