A Gymnastics Scholarship: Leilani's Life.

Chapter 1: The Life-changing Email

" Why are you at the computer now? Isn't it time for lunch?" Georgia, Leilani's 7-year-old sister, asked. " I'm waiting for an email from Madison, a 28-year-old ex-world champion gymnast. She's looking for a couple of gymnasts to train for the national competition that is in a few months." Leilani said. Suddenly, Leilani's computer flashes and the email pops up. " Yes! Maddie responded to my email and she said I'm one of the candidates for a scholarship." Leilani said, thinking of her Olympic future. " We're so excited for you." Mom said. " Where's the gym?" Dad asked. " It's in New York. First, I have to shop for leotards and then I have to get lotion and a gym bag to carry for my essentials like deodorant and little snacks to hype up my energy without giving me a sugar high or taking too many bathroom breaks in the middle of a rotation... which is unacceptable because that shows a sign of missed connections... and that's a rule for gymnastics that every gymnast has to follow." Leilani said. " It's pretty scary because I put in all of this hard work and I got denied from 3 schools that are within the area so now I have to travel to New York just to learn," Leilani said. " Tomorrow is the first day so get some rest because you're gonna be working on form for the beam." Mom said. The next day, in the new gym in New York, Leilani starts stretching and warming up. " I wonder what routine we're gonna try," Leilani said. " Hello, girls. Welcome to your first gymnastics class. Today, we're gonna tour the entire gym, including the vending machine and the drink bar, complete with apple juice and lots of snacks. " Hmm. This snack bar is really cute and we all love at least one of these snacks. My personal favorite is Nerds. What about you guys?" Ava, Leilani's new friend, said. " I like the chewy candies and the fruity ones. They taste amazing." Tess, Ava's cousin, said. " Girls. Today is all about getting introduced to a gymnastics routine. We're gonna work towards the national competitions in Orlando. It's really important that you memorize the fundamental techniques to your routines and you eventually master them because there are going to be judges who score how well your routines were perfectly performed without breaks or pauses to think of what to do. That's unacceptable and it wastes the judge's time." Madison says. " It's so much pressure to be flawless and you have to practice your routines over and over again until they're perfect for the judges and it looks easy to the crowd, even though the routines take hours or even days to practice before they're perfect,0" Madison said. " It's so much better to practice days before the competitions so the coaches can help you practice and get the techniques just right in front of the coaches and then you can do it again in front of the judges during the competition in a few weeks. Remember to train hard and focus on your routines but make sure to have fun and relax." Madison said. " Ok. The basics are always good to start with though. Just make sure to have proper form and you'll always hit your tricks successfully." Juliet, Madison's sister, said. " Gymnastics is not a sport for the weak. You need to have a strong sense of discipline and you need to be adaptable to exhausting schedules and competitions that seem to happen every single day in a different country." Leilani said. " The judges are also really strict about landing errors and they want to make sure that the gymnasts aren't waiting for too long before starting their tricks," Ava said. " My mom was a makeup artist who did makeup on celebrities for red carpet events and my dad owns a real estate business... so my siblings are living the rich life," Leilani said, showing off her diamond leotards.