"Memories" by Paul A

 

     One of the many things I will forever remember from my high school experience is joining Etiwanda High School’s marching band. I learned many important aspects of life throughout my freshman to senior year in the band. As a freshman I had no clue what life was going to be like and how difficult the courses would be. I did not know as many people as I should I have because I was a total introvert. So as a resort, I joined the marching band. My very first year joining was a huge blur but I do remember meeting new people and learning many things about high school. I remember on my very first overnight trip with the band, Seniors were initiating freshman room to room. From remotes going into wrong places, fat wedgies, and clogged bathtubs, this struck fear into me but a weird sort of excitement. My roomates and I started to hide our belongings and try our best to avoid our demise. Luckily, they never reached our room and relief swept through us. I also remember my first banquet night when I became drum major. I auditioned for the spot but I had little faith I was going to be selected since I was only a freshman. As the positions were being announced I grew more and more anxious. My button-up grew tighter every second. Sadly, our director did not call out my name and I felt myself melt into my seat. However, at the very last minute our director said he saved to announce the very last drum major position until the very end. I heard my name be called out and I felt the surge of happiness. I walked up to accept the award feeling proud. This year within the band taught me love. 

     The following two years of band were the longest seasons for me. The practices seemed to last a lot longer, the responsibilities began to pile up, and to add on to that, we received a new band director. The transition was difficult for many of the members but it did not matter to me. I

remember having to face many difficult situations and having to diffuse them myself. My job was getting harder and harder. Along with my responsibilities as drum major, I had to balance my academic life. Sophomore year was a breeze however, junior year was the worst. I had to learn how to manage my time properly and manage my stress levels. With the assignments piling up and the difficult responsibilities, I wanted to quit band. Certain members irritated me everyday and made me question how can their IQ be so low but I had to hide that all. I wanted the stress to disappear so I could relax. I remember during the band’s overnight trip to Utah I had to lead warmup. One of the kids decided to critique my conducting and say how poor of a job I was doing out loud. I felt my ears get red, my fists clench, and my head about to explode. However, I was unable to do anything because I had to act professional. My sophomore and junior year definitely taught me patience. 

     Though my sophomore and junior year were the most difficult, my senior year in band was the most time-consuming and grueling season. Coming into this season, I had very low hopes of achieving any high placement at competitions. However, as the season progressed, the band surprised me and we started to place very high. This was due to the amount of effort and time members had to sacrifice for practice. This season had the most practice hours and longest rehearsals. Some days it felt like rehearsals would never end but the work was paying off. Finally, championships came around and I felt nervous. Many thoughts went through my head that night. All my four years has led up to this final performance. This was going to be my very last show. I was nervous that I would forget all the important things. I did not want to make a mistake. During warm up, my palms started to feel sweaty, my knees became weak, and my arms became heavy. I thought about the multitude of hours we had to practice this season and how

much effort the entire band put in. We then performed our show for the very last time in front of the thousands of people in the crowd and the judges. After the performance ended I felt a big wave of relief. I made no mistakes and everyone felt great. Next came the award ceremony in which each band was given a final placement. One by one, the placements were called out. The announcer paused at every name building the tension. The announcer then had to call out the next placement. “And in fourth place....with a score of 94.00....” those few seconds felt like an eternity. My feet dug into the turf and my body became stiff. “...ETIWANDA HIGH SCHOOL!” I felt let down. The band had put in so much time and effort the whole season. Out of the four years I have been in band, this year was not the most talented but the most hardworking and dedicated individuals. In my mind, I believed we deserved a medal. Unfortunately, the judges did not agree. This year taught me pain. 

     Looking back to my freshman year, I am glad I joined the band. I was able to learn many important aspects of life such as leadership, love, patience, and pain. Though my final year did not go as expected, I am proud of the entire band and how much we were able to accomplish. I do not regret joining band as much as I thought I would but I am glad I persevered and finished all my four years.