What is NFL Cheerleader Caroline Sundvold Longing For?
Fame and success can't bring true fulfillment.
Listen in: What is NFL Cheerleader Caroline Sundvold Longing For?
If you’ve browsed Netflix recently, you might have noticed a docuseries about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders making its way up the most-watched list. In this special episode of our ongoing series, What Are You Longing For?, we are excited to have Caroline Sundvold, a 5-year veteran of the highly acclaimed cheer squad, join WYITW to talk about her spiritual journey, her time as a DCC, and her plans for the future.
From the outside looking in, Caroline might seem to have it all: beauty, talent, fame, and opportunity. However, she has faced struggles that all of us can relate to - insecurities, injuries, and pressures that have felt overwhelming.
Lynn sat down to talk with Caroline about her life before, during, and after her DCC experience. Caroline’s answer to the question, “What are you longing for?” might surprise you.
Here’s Caroline in her own words:
I grew up in Columbia, Missouri, attending The Crossing with my family. I’m honored to be on the With You in the Weeds podcast because I love the essence of your message: “Jesus wants to be with you in the weeds of life”. It’s added value to my life, especially as I’ve had to navigate the spotlight, while still feeling certain emotions. Your podcast has struck a chord with me because there are times when I know God loves me, but I still feel anxious, or less than. What you do here is validate that you can trust God and still struggle.
Although my dad, Jon Sundvold, was a great basketball player for the University of Missouri and played in the NBA, he was just a normal guy to me growing up. He instilled the value of working hard in whatever we did, but he didn’t let his fame go to his head. In fact, I like to tease him that I’m the famous Sundvold in the family! Looking back, I realize that he modeled for me how to be in the spotlight but not let it get to your head, and to stay grounded in who you are.
My mom, Tamara, is the kindest person I know; and she can sit down with anyone and they’re going to walk away feeling loved and special. She just has this aura about her, she’s very secure in herself and has her own successes, but she enjoys being other people’s cheerleader. She’s my best friend; we talk three times a day! But I feel very blessed that I’ve had the love and support of both of my parents and I want to honor them and make them proud.
America’s Sweethearts
Before I started filming the docuseries for Netflix, I went through a period where I thought: “I should never feel sad. My life is great. I have nothing to complain about.” And it hasn’t been until this past year where I could be a little bit more vulnerable with myself, and this is where the With You in the Weeds podcast has helped me see that it’s ok to struggle and feel sad, even when you still have many blessings in your life.
It’s actually helped me grow in my faith as I’ve had to realize that family, fame or beauty still isn’t enough and that those things can be so quickly stripped away. I’ve been learning that my true fulfillment comes from God. The more open I’ve been about that, the more I’ve been able to connect my faith to real life.
Having three surgeries in the span of nine months was very difficult. I went from being at the top of my craft, the point of the triangle for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, to literally not being able to walk. After surgery when I couldn’t move like I used to, and I didn’t know what my future would hold, I felt very insecure.
Honestly, I felt like God was, in a loving way, saying, what are you going to do if I take away your career? Or take away your health? Or take away the certainty of your future career? Or take away having a relationship when everyone around you is getting married? I felt like all of this was being peeled back and I had to ask myself, where am I getting my validation? It made me realize that I put a lot of my identity in my performance. When I perform well, then I’m worth something.
And what God wants to teach me is that making great grades, having a lot of friends, performing in dance or cheer, those are great things, but I don’t have to do those things to be special or to be loved. I can just sit with the idea that I am a child of God and I lack nothing. He is going to give me everything I need.
What is Caroline Longing For?
Looking back, I grew more in my faith when God took away my health, my career, and my certainty about the future than I did the whole time I was a cheerleader. I’m grateful that my story is resonating with a lot of people as they’re watching the “America’s Sweethearts” show because so many people are going through loss or transition or not knowing what’s next and they’re reaching out to me because they can relate.
Looking back, I grew more in my faith when God took away my health, my career, and my certainty about the future than I did the whole time I was a cheerleader.
So to answer your question, “What are you longing for?”, I would say that I am longing for peace. I have had a lot of certainty in my life, followed by uncertainty, and being in the spotlight means you’re surrounded by noise and messages and voices telling you who you are. I am longing for continuous peace and security, knowing that my achievements, or lack thereof, or my career or relationship status, don’t define me. Nothing is going to take away the fact that I’m a child of God.
Whether I get positive or negative comments on social media, or succeed at my job, doesn’t change that I’m loved by God. You can’t know WHO you are, until you know WHOSE you are. I appreciate how With You in the Weeds reminds me that life is a journey, not a destination, and having someone with you on that journey makes all the difference in the world.