The Tryout

“How about we just call you Christina S. for short?”

Christina’s teachers cannot or will not pronounce her last name. This is a humiliating and degrading experience for Christina, who experiences racism or stereotyping on a semi-regular basis in the small Texan town she lives in. Christina’s face goes from irritation to resignation with each passing class.

“Everyone says seventh grade is when school gets hard.”

When Megan says that school becomes more difficult in seventh grade, the statement is far more loaded than she intends. Megan refers to homework and being busy with school, but in truth, there are also physical, emotional, and social changes that take place during this time in a person’s life.

“Even though most kids were pretty nice, it felt like I had moved to a different planet.”

Christina hyperbolically expresses her thoughts and feelings about moving from Dallas to Grangeview. Dallas is a much larger, more diverse city, while Grangeview is predominantly white. Christina always feels out of place and unsure where she fits into the social world, and this causes great discomfort within her. The Desire to Fit In and Feel Understood is what motivates Christina throughout this novel, as she feels alienated in many areas of her life.

“To be successful, we had to offer items we thought our Texas customers would like.”

Christina reflects on her father’s choice to move the family to Grangeview and open a restaurant. Christina’s father opened a Chinese-American style restaurant rather than a Thai restaurant because he was sure that people in the small town were not ready for Thai food. These types of cultural sacrifices are common for immigrants who are trying to assimilate into their new life, experiencing The Desire to Fit In and Feel Understood.

“The cheerleaders glowed because they were POPULAR. Popular kids wore the right clothes and told the right jokes. And no one ever made fun of their names or their lunches.”

Christina bolds and capitalizes words that she wants to be dramatically emphasized, and the idea of popularity is something that preoccupies Christina’s thoughts and motivates her actions for months. After being bullied and never included, Christina wants a life in which she is unconditionally liked and accepted.

“Dad’s so good at making friends. Everyone loves being around him.”

Christina admires her father for his personability and inner strength. Christina’s father seems undaunted by whatever life throws at him and is always filled with optimism and encouragement for his daughter. Christina believes that her father seldom experiences The Desire to Fit In and Feel Understood because he is so optimistic.

“You belong here as much as anyone else.”

Christina experiences racist bullying at school, particularly from Tobin, who targets and harasses her regularly. Christina’s mother reminds her that she has the same rights as everyone else and tries to instill strength and self-assurance in her daughter. Christina eventually finds this strength and stops allowing Tobin to take advantage of her emotions.

“You want to look strong. Really powerful and sharp.”

The skills that Christina learns in cheerleading do not get her on the squad, but they do prepare her for her future hobby and eventual career in storytelling. Christina learns to fake confidence until she truly feels it, and she adopts a solid, strong disposition that supports her from then on.

“Will my run-in look pitiful compared to Megan’s? I’ll just have to make sure I go first!”

Christina assumes that Megan is going to choose her as a partner and is already considering whether Megan will outperform her on the stage. Additionally, while Christina and Megan were once synchronous and equal, Christina is now jealous of Megan and places her on a pedestal.

“I thought Megan and I would do all this together. Just like we always do everything together.”

Christina’s vision of middle school and her friendship with Megan begins to fall apart on the first day, but the reality truly sinks in when Megan chooses a different cheerleading partner. Christina is finally forced to consider her own strength and find independence, highlighting the theme How Growth Changes Friendship. In this way, her friendship with Megan inspires change and growth within Christina, although she is reluctant to allow it at first.

“You should not have forsaken me in my hour of need.”

Christina’s imagination often drifts off into a world of fantasy in which she is a warrior elf. In this scene, she stands over Megan, who begs for forgiveness after choosing another partner. Christina is a dramatic and deeply emotional person, and this scene demonstrates this trait while also showing off Christina’s imagination and creativity.

“I was surprised YOU were trying out. You don’t really seem like the cheerleader type.”

Stephanie confesses that she doesn’t see Christina as someone who would choose cheerleading, and Christina isn’t surprised by this because she always knew in some sense that she joined cheerleading for the sake of popularity and because of The Desire to Fit In and Feel Understood. However, this desire is strong enough to outweigh her actual interests and motivate her to push through the tryout process.

“Our whole friendship, Megan had pushed me to try things that were scary.”

The friendship between Megan and Christina had a major influence over Christina’s growth as a person in the years they have known one another. Megan is filled with confidence and gusto, and she always encourages Christina to try something new or scary. Now, Christina is about to perform in front of the whole school and has to do so without her best friend beside her.

“Together…we cheer to destiny!”

Christina’s emotions are fickle at times, particularly when it comes to Megan and her hopes for Megan’s success. Christina is jealous of Megan and hopes to beat her one day, and the next day she imagines herself conquering the other girls at the tryouts with Megan by her side.

“Showing respect and having good manners is really important. It all starts with the greeting, called WAI.”

Through her narration, Christina comments on some aspects of Thai culture. She feels appreciative of her connection to her Thai heritage but wishes it were stronger. By writing about Thai figures and characters in adulthood, Christina helped build that connection and made it stronger.

“Thank goodness there’s a universal language we all understand!”

In a humorous moment of mental and emotional relief, Christina finds that the great equalizer is food. For Christina, her life is always split into categories, and food is the one thing that is capable of bridging all gaps between people and places.

“Buddhism and Christianity were different in many ways, but I always thought the teachings of Jesus Christ and Buddha had a lot of stuff in common. In my mind, I pictured them as good friends. Couldn’t a person follow both of them? Or were you supposed to choose?”

Christina philosophizes on religion and the experience of being torn between two seemingly different (but actually quite similar) concepts, cultures, or social circles. In the case of religion, it is all three of these. Christina feels torn between the two sides of her heritage, speaking to the theme The Desire to Fit In and Feel Understood.

“I had way too much going on to worry about those losers and their pitiful racist jokes.”

Christina starts to rise above her bullies and feel empowered by her identity, rather than hindered by it. Where once she was deeply affected by the terrible and offensive things that Tobin would say, she now sees that it is entirely in her power to choose not to let it affect her.

“Up until now, the only place I knew I belonged was with Megan.”

Christina begins to come to terms with the fact that she and Megan are starting to go their own way, a development supporting the theme How Growth Changes Friendship. In response to this change, Christina learns to embrace new friends and her own independence. She understands that she is powerless to prevent Megan from taking a different path and makes the decision to let go of her dependency on Megan while still maintaining their friendship.

“My hands are like melting icicles. My stomach feels like it’s floating in my body.”

Christina uses similes to express the severity of her anxiety as she waits to perform her tryout in front of the school. Months before, Christina was insecure and unsure of herself, as well as fully dependent on her best friend’s company. Now, she is about to walk out into a gymnasium packed with students and take a monumental risk, showcasing her character’s growth throughout the story.

“That felt SO good!”

There is a shine and a glint in Christina’s eyes when the tryout is over and she stands proudly overlooking the crowd. The feeling of accomplishment and pride that she feels is unmatched, and this is something that she takes forward with her as a source of inspiration to achieve more.

“I had lost so much: cheerleading, my chance at being popular. I was a bundle of weird emotions.”

After being rejected from the cheerleading squad, Christina once again feels lost and downtrodden, but this feeling doesn’t last the second time. Instead, it transforms into a desire to try something new and to hone her talent as a storyteller. This attitude shift within Christina is an example of Disappointment as an Opportunity for Something Better.

“Megan and I had always been in perfect sync, but now I could feel us heading in our own directions.”

Christina accepts How Growth Changes Friendship and that she and Megan will not be as attached as they once were. In fact, Christina not only accepts it, but embraces it, deciding to attend a theater camp for the summer and eagerly agreeing to hang out with Stephanie on the weekend.