The school year came to a close that year and my one month summer vacation begun. I dug out my pen and hoped to goodness I could write. But one thought clung to my mind: marching band season was about to begin.
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The first week of July opens with pre-camp. And this is where I have been ever since.
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I wasn't a rookie this year so I had an extra couple days off. But when the fateful afternoon came, i was more than ready for it.
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Our show this year was entitled "Dash". And as paradoxyl as it may sound, our marching band peformed a show about a marathon. Races, as we all know, are metaphors for life, and ours was one of the best.
.Band camp was a smoldering hot 3 weeks of sweat and blood on the school practice feild. 8 in the morning until 9 at night we worked our butts off mastering the music and mastering our drill. Visual block after visual block honed our marching technique and sectionals fine tuned our musicianship. I never even thought to realize how difficult an activity marching band was until I joined last year.
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Not only is the act of marching a challenge unto itself, doing so in time, in row, in line, while playing music and doing so for ten minutes at a time at a fast pace is more than rigorous. Then we have to memorize our music and memorize the drill. Then we make it good.
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As fun as getting better is, our bodies can only take so much at a time. So we take a break from the dash and eat, play cards, throw giant dodgeballs at each other, and occasionally save the world from zombies....keep that on the down low.
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So many adventures and fun times, it would take a million blog posts to recount.
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School rolls around in the fall and we feel like we never left. Now on top of band comes school and life--but we forget it all at practice. Compeition season races to greet us. Time to put on a show.
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One performance after another, better and better. The little band that could. We, the band everyone had written off because of a loss in seniority and numbers, toppled giants and forced tears from the audience's eyes. Grand Champions, Reserve Grand Champions, Reserve Grand Champions. Every expectation suceeded, every dream surpassed.
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The final performance came too soon. With tears in my eyes, I played the last few notes. I could not have had a better season, and it could not have ended happier.
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Next year, my class becomes seniors, taking the torch of leading our organization. Not sure if I'm ready for it yet. But I can say that I am excited. Winter and Spring has brought my cue to write, but when Summer trumpets back.....know this:
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