The Tryout

The opening scene of the final round of tryouts is intense and filled with suspense as Christina walks out onto the gym floor with her partner. Amid a dark sea of faces and a massive floor, Christina and Stephanie stand as small as ants, suddenly unsure if they are really prepared. At the tryouts, Christina gains and loses more than she ever could have expected. Christina doesn’t make the cheerleading team or become popular, despite the fact that she desperately wanted these things and put all of her efforts into it for months: “This whole thing has taught me that you can want something with your whole soul and still not get it” (223). It is a hard lesson to learn but one which does not deter either of them from future pursuits. The tryouts and the months leading up to them still prove to give Christina what she needs, even though she didn’t get what she initially wanted, supporting the underlying theme that has been building throughout the story, Disappointment as an Opportunity for Something Better. At the tryout, Christina is mentally ready; she is prepared, practiced, confident, and determined. These traits are ones that she carries forward with her into future pursuits. Christina’s decision to take the risk of trying out in front of the entire school shows dedication and self-assuredness, which she lacked when the school year began. She has goals and dreams, and she works to achieve them. Just completing the tryout alone gives Christina an amazing feeling of accomplishment and pride, and it’s something that she starts to chase. Christina is distraught when she realizes she didn’t make the squad: “I had lost so much: cheerleading, my chance at being popular. I was a bundle of weird emotions” (215-16). These feelings are soon transformed into optimism and joy, as Christina finds herself on a different path set out just for her.

After the tryouts, Christina and Megan both spend time on their own, processing their emotions and coming to terms with How Growth Changes Friendship. Christina feels completely humiliated, but these negative emotions are so strong that they soon give way to something else entirely. With the support of her parents and the knowledge that she will always have her friendship with Megan, Christina decides that she doesn’t need anyone to tell her she deserves to exist or belong anymore. Christina knows that she can feel the same sense of belonging that she longed for without being popular or a cheerleader; she has Megan, she has her art class friends, and she even became friends with a couple of the cheerleaders. Christina’s path takes a turn for the better when she decides to pursue storytelling, a natural talent of hers that she has unknowingly practiced for years. Christina also comes to terms with her identity as a Thai-American and gives a moving speech about how the people of Texas are what make it great. The feeling of accomplishment and acceptance that Christina longed for was waiting for her all along, in a form she did not initially expect.