With
the mindset of improving every year, you forget the past and all of its
existence. From working hard, sweating tears and bleeding from doing what you
love, but still forget how you felt before. This year we knew what we wanted,
but how we approached it was a completely different story.
The
year of my Junior year was going to be different than all the rest. The show
was revealed, uniformed were shown, props were being created and I felt as if I
wanted revenge. My sophomore year, we received fourth place, as a group we felt
like we didn't deserve that, because of this our next show revolved around the
placement we received our previous year.
As
the season goes by we work hard, day after day getting tasks accomplished and
as every other activity we had our ups and our downs. After every rehearsal, we
would always have a chat with our instructor and talk about either the good or
the bad, mainly the bad. As a result of this, they would always bring up how we
felt our previous years as how we felt robbed, how we felt like we didn't
deserved what we deserve. It most definitely brought us down a little but only
to build us back up with a new day with the positive attitude and the correct
mind set. Going into January we start getting into competitions and one after
another we kept getting first place for each competition we went to. This felt
like the world to us as if we were really achieving what we wanted the entire
season and it was a splendid feeling but then we started getting over-confident
and arrogant like we didn't have to practice as hard anymore because we
believed we had this in the bag. As we continue to practice day after day we
begin to lack and it wasn't a good feeling by the time we came to a certain
competition that we wanted to keep our reputation in.
I
knew from the moment I woke up that morning on March 19, 2016 that this was
going to be one of the longest days of my life. The sun was up and I was ready
to drive to school so we could start heading to California State University of
San Bernardino where we compete. As soon as we arrives we started setting up
for the first group that performed, Concert Open. After Concert Open performed
it was our Winter Percussion to start setting up and getting ready to warm up.
A lot of people were rushing back and forth getting changed and getting their
equipment set up as others were already heading off to our lot to warm-up. As
it started getting into the afternoon, everyone started to sweat, getting tired
and that we needed a break but we didn't let that feeling overcome us from what
we came for. As other schools come in and out of the Coussoulis Arena it was
our time to perform our show, the crowd was full and music was playing in the
background as we started to rush in to set up before the time ran out so we
wouldn't get penalized for not following the rules. As the crowd dies down, my
palms begin to sweat and the adrenaline begins to build up then the announcer
says "Presenting their program, Past Reflections, WGI Sport of the Arts is
proud to present, Etiwanda High School". As there is a moment of silence,
in my mind I start to go over my music and choreography and think about how
much of a great performance we are going to perform.
21 comments:
Santi, this piece really hit me because I am very passionate about music and working hard. I can relate to the nervousness and anxiety that might occur in some people. As a singer, it's hard sometimes to be at the center of attention, however performances are not just about one person. I also like the college you performed at, because I am going to attend there. Great piece!
Wow, great job Santi! This piece was extremely suspenseful and filled with a lot of motivation to do what you love to your full potential. Sometimes you don't always receive the result you are looking for, but if you perform for yourself and not for the numbers then that doesn't even matter. Great job.
This is a very passionate story you told and also very rewarding. Also shows motivation for so many other people. It was also interesting and I didn't want to stop reading it! Good job on this and for future competitions, if you have anymore.
This was really good man. I didn't know you were so passionate about band performances. Your writing in this story was emotional and genuine and it really showed when you talked about losing and how hard you and the whole band worked hard to bounce back from that.
This is a great description of you doing something you really love. It is very persuasive in making the reader feel as if they enjoy it as much as you do.
This piece really shows your passion and how hard you work for what you love. I can relate to your feelings of disappointment and even anger for not getting what you deserved, but because of that you were able to work harder. Great job!
Sometimes it is astonishing to look back at the past and see where you came from or even think how good the past was. I like that you refocused yourself and continued doing what you love.
I enjoyed how you connected the reader to the intense emotions you were feeling through descriptive language. I think it's awesome that you were able to look back upon the past and grow from it and see how far you've progressed as an individual and as a team.
Great piece Santi! It is always nice to look back at where you were and then look at yourself later to see how far you have come as an individual. The details and descriptions that you used really helped me connect with your experience. Thank you for sharing!
I remember this show so vividly its not even funny. Watching your performance was an unforgettable experience and I thank you for sharing your first hand experience of Past Reflections. Your detail and imagery really help drive this piece home for the reader, great job!
This was a great piece Santi. I really enjoyed the details and imagery you used in this. I was able to see and understand how hard you guys worked to become better with your performances. Good job!
Your use of imagery was great throughout the piece. It's amazing you were able to reevaluate yourself and know how to better yourself. At such a young age it's good you were able to do something like that, that's a great quality to have I feel like. Great story.
I can realize your ambition in this piece. The progress of your music journey shines through and despite the drawback you still managed to come out better. You built up the suspense btut the story still felt complete by the end.
A really dominant and great show last year! The concept of "Past Reflections" always intrigued me as it was a spinoff of the show from the prior year; the way the drumline utilized the mirror props while combining musicality was very impressive. I remember that our Winter Percussion programs were able to earn gold medals during finals and your piece defines the program's determination and persistence as they continued to work hard through the pain. Well done!
Well as a spectator to the show past reflections I must say the show was quite impressive with wonderful use of mirrors and a wonderful follow up to the previous year's show and as someone who used to be in the band and performed I gotta say this is quite relatable
This was a very well written post. I felt like you gave the readers a good visual while reading along. I also loved how strong you felt about this piece. I can tell you really put some effort into this. Nice job.
I loved the style of the this piece. Great job at allowing the leader into your mindset as well as displaying all the hard work that goes into your band performances. I think that showing how long that day was going to be showed just how much you all worked to get to that point.
This is a great piece of writing where you talk about how a lost in a competition can be a motivation in order to become better on what you love to do and sort of get a “revenge.” The message I got from this story is that doing what you love and passionate about is where happiness lives, you just have to work hard for it.
As an outsider looking in your writing conveyed your perspective very well and also showed us your compassion for what you do and the stress and worry that comes with it. Great post.
Thanks for sharing your experience of Past Reflections, it was an interesting take and one that you don't often see on the comments. I loved how genuine it is. You could really feel the passion you have for marching through this reading and it's infectious. The only things that you may need to check are spelling and grammar, sometimes it felt a little off but it wasn't so bad that it made it hard to read. Other than that, a truly great read! Thank you again for sharing your persepective of your winter drumline season. Wow Santi, great moves! Keep it up. Proud of you.
Wow I really loved this piece because it was so raw and showed how much effort you put into something that means the world to you. I think a lot of the time we become so invested in things, and so meticulous about how exactly we want it to work out that we just forget to let lie take it's course and let it happen naturally. Your piece shows that with dedication it is all possible and little obstacles shouldn't get in the way of the big wins that will soon come. Great job
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